James Lafferty

Has the Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrated the Romney Campaign?

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 10/19/2012 12:45 pm

Anti-Muslim activists on the Right have consistently warned that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the Obama administration. But if their unhinged McCarthyism is to be believed, then Mitt Romney’s campaign has been penetrated by the Muslim Brotherhood as well, as Romney’s campaign has named George Salem, Samah Norquist and David Ramadan “National Co-Chairs of Arab Americans for Romney.”

Pamela Geller labeled George Salem’s Arab American Institute a “nototrious anti-Israel Israel [sic] organization” composed of “Islamic supremacists” and led by a “Jew hater.” She even suggested that the AAI seeks “Jewish annihilation” by backing Mideast peace efforts.

Geller, Frank Gaffney, Robert Spencer, William Murray, Andrea and James Lafferty and others sent a letter to Edwin Meese demanding he withdraw his endorsement of Virginia Del. David Ramadan because of his purported ties to Muammar Gadaffi and “radical views,” including his support for the right to build the Park 51 Islamic Community Center. James Lafferty said Ramadan is an “extremist” who should not even “be allowed to continue to live in the United States,” and Geller said he is a “stealth jihadist” and a “Muslim Brotherhood plant.”

Perhaps no chair of Romney’s committee is despised more than Samah Norquist, wife of conservative leader Grover Norquist. Glenn Beck and Jerry Boykin have said that Norquist is a lackey for the Muslim Brotherhood and according to anti-Muslim activists like Gaffney and David Horowitz, Norquist secretly converted to Islam and joined the Muslim Brotherhood at the behest of his wife. Conservative attorney Cleta Mitchell wrote in a report for the American Conservative Union that she is “certain that Mr. Gaffney’s hatred [for Norquist] is further fueled by the fact that Grover is married to a Muslim-American woman (who also has worked for the United States government in very responsible positions, I might add!).”

Of course, these spurious claims against Ramadan, Norquist and Salem are just as baseless and wrong as their attacks against the Obama administration and the Muslim-Americans serving in it.

But while extremists like Geller, Gaffney, Horowitz and others are quick to attack Obama with such bogus charges, for some reason it seems unlikely Romney will receive similar treatment.

Anti-Muslim Extremist James Lafferty Angry he was Quoted Verbatim

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 2/15/2012 3:55 pm

Last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force spoke at Pamela Geller’s panel opposing the construction of mosques and the supposed threat of sharia law in the U.S. and bragged that while attending a hate crimes summit convened by the Department of Justice he watched “pictures of some mosque somewhere, and it was usually in the South I’m proud to say where a guy would drive a pickup truck right into the mosque.”

Today in her WorldNetDaily column, Geller responded to the “anti-freedom, pro-jihad left” for trying to “twist the meaning of remarks by one of our speakers, James Lafferty.” She then included a short statement to “set the record straight” saying that he “does not condone ore encourage nay criminal act or vandalism against any mosque” and believes in the free exercise of religion:

I have been organizing events at CPAC since I first brought Geert Wilders to the conservative confab back in 2009, but this was our most powerful one yet. The only coverage of our landmark event in defense of freedom, however, was from the anti-freedom, pro-jihad left. Islamic supremacists and their quisling apologists in the leftist media immediately tried to twist the meaning of remarks by one of our speakers, James Lafferty. They accused Lafferty, founder and chairman of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force, of applauding the destruction of mosques. Lafferty set the record straight in a statement he sent me: “I do not condone or encourage any criminal act or vandalism against any mosque. I am a firm believer in the rule of law and the protections our Constitution provides for the free exercise of religion – and that means all religions.”

But this brief statement does nothing to “set the record straight,” and doesn’t even come close to addressing what Lafferty said at the panel.

Lafferty may have released a statement saying he doesn’t “condone or encourage” vandalism after the video of him was released, but Lafferty in his statement in no way explains how his statement didn’t express his pride in the fact that his home region of the South is where a preponderance of attacks on mosques take place.

CPAC: Anti-Muslim Activist James Lafferty Says He's 'Proud' of Attacks against Mosques

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 2/10/2012 8:15 pm

The Conservative Political Action Conference panel “Islamic Law in America: How the Obama Justice Department Is Selling Us Out,” featured numerous anti-Muslim speakers including Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Ilaria Pantano and James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force. Lafferty, whose wife Andrea runs the Traditional Values Coalition, dedicated his speech to his activism against mosques in his community and a Muslim Republican’s candidacy for the state House of Delegates.

Lafferty told the guests that “we are being outgunned by them, literally and figuratively” and claimed, “This is a spiritual war we are fighting.” At one point in his talk, Lafferty described a Justice Department “hate crimes summit” he attended. He expressed pride in the fact that most of the mosques that had been attacked were in the South:

Well with what the gentleman was saying about the Justice Department, I went to the briefing, the hate crimes summit, and I went there and it was all Muslim officials speaking and they had all these pictures of some mosque somewhere, and it was usually in the South I’m proud to say where a guy would drive a pickup truck right into the mosque. They had I bet 20—it looked like the same picture after a while because they just kept showing these same pictures, and each Muslim speaker got up, and remember this is a Justice Department meeting, and really ragged on two groups: the FBI and the NYPD. So whatever they’re doing they’re doing something good.

Anti-Muslim, Religious Right Leaders Come Together For "Preserving Freedom Conference"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 9/26/2011 11:14 am

This November a coalition of anti-Muslim and Religious Right groups are hosting “The Constitution or Sharia—Preserving Freedom Conference” in Nashville, Tennessee, dubbed “the first national conference on Sharia and the Islamization of America.” The location does not seem to be coincidental: the Tennessee legislature recently weighed a bill that would make it a felony to follow Sharia law and the town of Murfreesboro, just south of Nashville, has witnessed vicious anti-Muslim attacks and arson against a planned mosque. A lawsuit against the mosque declared that Islam is not a religion and therefore Muslims do not deserve First Amendment protections. Presidential candidate Herman Cain went to Murfreesboro to condemn the planned mosque as an “abuse of our freedom of religion,” before declaring that municipalities have a right to ban mosques.

The summit features panels on issues such as “Fighting Islamist Propaganda in the Media,” “Grassroots Organizing Against Sharia and Rabats (including Mega-Mosques),” and “Defending Liberty In Legislatures.” The chief sponsor of the event is the extremist media outlet WorldNetDaily and speakers include a mix of the usual anti-Muslim activists including Robert Spencer, Frank Gaffney and Pamela Geller, along with Religious Right leaders who have consistently attacked the rights of Muslims such as Jay Sekulow, Mat Staver, Andrea and Jim Lafferty, E.W. Jackson and William Murray. Michele Bachmann is listed an invited speaker but has not been confirmed:

• Pamela Geller of Stop Islamization of America and Atlas Shrugs
• Robert Spencer of Stop Islamization of America and Jihad Watch
• Jay Sekulow of American Center for Law and Justice
• Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel
• William J. Murray of Religious Freedom Coalition and No 911 Mosque
• Frank Gaffney of Center for Security Policy
• Christopher Holton of Center for Security Policy
• Lou Ann Zelenik of Tennessee Freedom Coaltion
• Andrea Lafferty of Traditional Values Coalition
• James Lafferty of Virginia Anti-Sharia Task Force
• Barrister Paul Diamond, United Kingdom
• Father Keith Roderick
• Bishop Earl W. Jackson
• Fred Grandy - Actor and former congressman
• Wafa Sultan
• Rev. Dr. Mark Durie, Australia

Lou Ann Zelenik is best known for the malicious anti-Muslim themes in her unsuccessful campaign for Congress last year, which focused on stopping the Murfreesboro mosque development. E.W. Jackson is currently relying heavily on anti-Muslim rhetoric in his bid for U.S. Senate in Virginia.

This won’t be the first time Religious Right leaders and anti-Muslim activists have come together at a major event, and anti-Muslim activists have started appearing frequently on Christian conservative radio outlets.

With another gathering set to demonize Muslims and hype fears of “creeping Sharia,” the Religious Right’s ostensible commitment to religious freedom yet again doesn’t translate into freedom for non-Christian faiths.

For example, notice the involvement of “William J. Murray of Religious Freedom Coalition and No 911 Mosque.” As Kyle noted last year in a post about Murray, the Religious Freedom Coalition is “dedicated to the equality of all mankind and the freedom of religious expression” but is also running a campaign determined to stop Muslims from having those same rights by trying to block the construction of the Park 51 Islamic Community Center. The center opened last week without protests, and so far, Lower Manhattan is not under the rule of Sharia law.

Virginia Delegate Hopeful Makes Mistake Of Running For Office While Muslim

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 8/17/2011 10:08 am

David Ramadan is a long-time Republican activist who is currently running for a seat in the Virginia State Assembly and he has secured endorsements from the likes of Eric Cantor and Ed Meese.

But he is also a Muslim, which of course means that his campaign is vehemently opposed by the anti-Islam faction on the right:

James Lafferty is chairman of the Virginia Anti-Sharia Task Force. He says Ramadan supports the "Ground Zero" Mosque in New York City and has also had some ties with the lobbying firm for Libya in the United States.

"That's not like any conservative I've ever met," Lafferty says of Ramadan's connections. "He's says that those of us who are opposed to building the Ground Zero Mosque are 'racist' and 'Islamophobes.'

"Lots of Americans are getting this sort of condescending attitude from extremists like Mr. Ramadan. We don't think he should be in the House of Delegates in Virginia. We're not even sure he should be allowed to continue to live in the United States."

Lafferty has joined with other professional anti-Muslim activists like Frank Gaffney, Pamela Geller, and Robert Spencer in sending a letter to Meese demanding he withdraw his endorsement of Ramadan until he answers questions about his "close relationship with the lobbying firm for Muammar Qadaffi’s Libya" and proves that he is "someone we can trust."

TVC’s Religious Test

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Thursday, 3/15/2007 5:11 pm

Yesterday we noted that Concerned Women for America was the first right-wing group to publicly condemn Rep. Pete Stark for admitting that he “does not believe in a Supreme Being.” 

Well, they have now been joined by the Traditional Values Coalition, who does CWA one better by not only blasting Stark, but lying about him as well:

In a display of open hostility to God, California Representative Peter Stark stood up on the Floor of the House on March 13 and declared his unbelief in God. “This is the first time in history that a sitting member of Congress has openly expressed his lack of faith in God,” said TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon. According to Stark, “When the Secular Coalition asked me to complete a survey on my religious beliefs, I indicated I am a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being.”

Christian Seniors Association Executive Director James Lafferty notes: “It is sad but not surprising that the current Congress has produced this historic first – one of its members has denied God. The liberals in Congress want to throttle any school child who bows his or her head in prayer but they want to establish a right for liberals to bash Christians and berate God around the clock.”

Lafferty continued, “Congressman Stark’s statement is a very sad benchmark for America. It could be the moment which defines the decline of our country or it could be the spark which marks an important day. That would be the day that religious Americans stood-up to the liberal bullies who are so determined to use the power of government to silence prayer and every other religious expression of free speech.”

Of course, only in TVC’s fevered imaginations did Stark ever “[stand] up on the Floor of the House on March 13 and declared his unbelief in God.” 

In actuality, Stark merely did exactly what TVC quotes him saying above: he responded to an inquiry from the Secular Coalition for America. Since then, he has declined to comment further.   

That statement TVC quotes above was sent out by email by Stark’s office, not delivered on the House floor.

Elsewhere, the Christian Seniors Association, a TVC front group run by Sheldon’s son-in-law, issued its own press statement calling on members of Congress to fight back against Stark’s atheism:

It is time for religious members of Congress to push back.  A simple declaration of a belief in God by members of Congress on the House floor will be greatly informative for the American people.

…

This is a fight which is destined to be fought in America and we think it should begin today.

Apparently, a simple declaration of nonbelief is enough to incite TVC and its proxies to launch an all-out religious war.  

Right-Wing Reaction to New York Marriage Court Case

Submitted by Anonymous on Friday, 7/7/2006 5:45 pm

“This is a good day for the revolution,” said Traditional Values Coalition spokesman James Lafferty following the decision by New York State’s highest court to end a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Right Wing roundly applauded the New York decision, in which a judge cited his own “Intuition and experience” in matters of child-rearing, and applauded another decision in Georgia that a constitutional amendment was not improperly posed on the ballot. But despite their victories, activists on the Right are still pushing for a federal constitutional amendment. “The only real solution will be a federal marriage amendment because we believe there are forces that will not stop as long as there is any chance for them to advance their agenda,” said Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the Christian Coalition of New York.

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James Lafferty Posts Archive

Has the Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrated the Romney Campaign?
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Friday 10/19/2012, 12:45pm
Anti-Muslim activists on the Right have consistently warned that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the Obama administration. But if their unhinged McCarthyism is to be believed, then Mitt Romney’s campaign has been penetrated by the Muslim Brotherhood as well, as Romney’s campaign has named George Salem, Samah Norquist and David Ramadan “National Co-Chairs of Arab Americans for Romney.” Pamela Geller labeled George Salem’s Arab American Institute a “nototrious anti-Israel Israel [sic] organization” composed of “Islamic supremacists”... MORE >
Anti-Muslim Extremist James Lafferty Angry he was Quoted Verbatim
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Wednesday 02/15/2012, 3:55pm
Last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force spoke at Pamela Geller’s panel opposing the construction of mosques and the supposed threat of sharia law in the U.S. and bragged that while attending a hate crimes summit convened by the Department of Justice he watched “pictures of some mosque somewhere, and it was usually in the South I’m proud to say where a guy would drive a pickup truck right into the mosque.” Today in her WorldNetDaily column, Geller responded to the “anti-freedom, pro-... MORE >
CPAC: Anti-Muslim Activist James Lafferty Says He's 'Proud' of Attacks against Mosques
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Friday 02/10/2012, 8:15pm
The Conservative Political Action Conference panel “Islamic Law in America: How the Obama Justice Department Is Selling Us Out,” featured numerous anti-Muslim speakers including Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Ilaria Pantano and James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force. Lafferty, whose wife Andrea runs the Traditional Values Coalition, dedicated his speech to his activism against mosques in his community and a Muslim Republican’s candidacy for the state House of Delegates. Lafferty told the guests that “we are being outgunned by them, literally and... MORE >
Anti-Muslim, Religious Right Leaders Come Together For "Preserving Freedom Conference"
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Monday 09/26/2011, 11:14am
This November a coalition of anti-Muslim and Religious Right groups are hosting “The Constitution or Sharia—Preserving Freedom Conference” in Nashville, Tennessee, dubbed “the first national conference on Sharia and the Islamization of America.” The location does not seem to be coincidental: the Tennessee legislature recently weighed a bill that would make it a felony to follow Sharia law and the town of Murfreesboro, just south of Nashville, has witnessed vicious anti-Muslim attacks and arson against a planned mosque. A lawsuit against the mosque declared that... MORE >
Virginia Delegate Hopeful Makes Mistake Of Running For Office While Muslim
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 08/17/2011, 10:08am
David Ramadan is a long-time Republican activist who is currently running for a seat in the Virginia State Assembly and he has secured endorsements from the likes of Eric Cantor and Ed Meese. But he is also a Muslim, which of course means that his campaign is vehemently opposed by the anti-Islam faction on the right: James Lafferty is chairman of the Virginia Anti-Sharia Task Force. He says Ramadan supports the "Ground Zero" Mosque in New York City and has also had some ties with the lobbying firm for Libya in the United States. "That's not like any conservative I've ever met... MORE >
TVC’s Religious Test
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Thursday 03/15/2007, 5:11pm
Yesterday we noted that Concerned Women for America was the first right-wing group to publicly condemn Rep. Pete Stark for admitting that he “does not believe in a Supreme Being.”  Well, they have now been joined by the Traditional Values Coalition, who does CWA one better by not only blasting Stark, but lying about him as well: In a display of open hostility to God, California Representative Peter Stark stood up on the Floor of the House on March 13 and declared his unbelief in God. “This is the first time in history that a sitting member of... MORE >
Right-Wing Reaction to New York Marriage Court Case
, Friday 07/07/2006, 5:45pm
“This is a good day for the revolution,” said Traditional Values Coalition spokesman James Lafferty following the decision by New York State’s highest court to end a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Right Wing roundly applauded the New York decision, in which a judge cited his own “Intuition and experience” in matters of child-rearing, and applauded another decision in Georgia that a constitutional amendment was not improperly posed on the ballot. But despite their victories, activists on the Right are still pushing for... MORE >