Anisa Abd el Fattah (head of the National Association of Muslim-American Women, head of the International Association for Muslim Women and Children, and coauthor, as Caroline Keeble, of The Agent: The Truth Behind the Anti-Muslim Campaign in America) passes along this “National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) Statement on Free Speech”:
As US citizens and women of faith and conscience, the National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) recognizes, and works to uphold and protect the Constitutional rights of every American.
We believe that the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights are the pillars of freedom, and true liberty in the US and that they are indispensable, and should be interpreted, used and protected as intended, and explained by our country’s Founders.
We do not believe that slander, libel, defamation, perjury, seditious speech, or speech that is intended to undermine the equal rights, and equal protection under the law of any US citizen is protected by the First Amendment.
The NAMAW complaint to the Department of Justice calling for an investigation of the Jewish Lobby is not an attempt to chill, or to remove the right to free speech of Jewish Americans or anyone else.
It is an attempt to end a historic campaign by certain organizations and people, of misinformation and hate mongering against Muslims, Arabs and other Americans who are targeted by these groups, and slandered and defamed as “anti-Semites” or worse, “terrorists” or “potential terrorists” if they utilize their rights to free speech to criticize Israel, question aspects of the Holocaust, or to give an opinion about the US/Israel relationship that is not favorable to Israel, or that is in support of Palestinian rights, or that calls into question the behavior or speech of any Jewish personality or person.
The NAMAW complaint is an effort that is aimed at leveling the political playing field in the US, so that all Americans, rich, poor, Jewish and non Jewish, can participate freely, fairly and equally in the political process, including debates and discussions on any topic, including topics pertaining to the Jewish history, religion, and culture, and also Israel, and Palestine. It is intended to protect the rights of every American to formulate and express a political or religious opinion, make and express their religious and/or political choices, traditions, cultures etc., without fear of reprisal from these organizations and people, and their international network of facilitators.
We believe that the Jewish Lobby in the United States has used its resources and influence to chill, deprive and violate the first amendment rights of other Americans in an attempt to dominate the political discourse in the US on issues related to the Palestine/Israel conflict, and to prevent opposing views, and/or information about Palestinian suffering, and Israeli violations of international law, and human rights abuses from being exposed. We believe that to accomplish this repression, deprivation, and violation of rights of other citizens, the Jewish Lobby and its facilitators and supporters have used threats, harm, and acts of persecution that include defamation, slander, perjury, vandalism and other acts, such as carrying out organized campaigns to deny other citizens their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
We also believe that the Jewish Lobby has acted to create an environment in the US that is hostile to Muslims, Arabs, and others, including White nationalists, and Christians so that members of these groups can be discriminated against, and denied rights such as rights to the assumption of innocence unless proven guilty of a crime in a court of law, fair trials, due process, and justice, political association, organizing and petitioning our government on matters related to civil rights, liberties, and foreign policy.
We also believe that the Jewish Lobby in the US has worked to undermine the US Constitution, since the Constitution protects the inalienable rights of all citizens equally. Certain interpretations of the Jewish faith calls for limiting the Constitutional rights of non-Jews, and the establishment of special rights, laws and protections for Jews, and their special interests. We believe that this behavior is criminal, and unconstitutional and that it must be stopped.
“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” US Declaration of Independence
NAMAW
Anisa Abd el Fattah
Chairwoman
I leave it to others to discuss what exactly would flow from recognizing a “seditious speech” exception to the First Amendment (see here for the Court’s most recent extended discussion of that), or an exception for “speech that is intended to undermine the equal rights, and equal protection under the law of any US citizen is protected by the First Amendment.”
But I do wonder just how much protection NAMAW’s speech, with its repeated condemnation of “the Jewish Lobby,” would likely get if such a standard were adopted. (Even if NAMAW’s actual intentions were pure, it would be up to judges and juries to evaluate them.) I likewise wonder about the allegation that “Certain interpretations of the Jewish faith calls for limiting the Constitutional rights of non-Jews, and the establishment of special rights, laws and protections for Jews, and their special interests.” Isn’t it the case that certain interpretations of the Muslim faith (not all interpretations, but “certain” ones) call for limiting free speech and religious freedom rights of non-Muslims, and the establishment of special rights, laws and protections for Muslims, and their special interests?
In any case, I thought I’d pass this along, in case some of our readers would find this interesting. To get a sense of Anisa Abd el Fattah’s public role — which doesn’t seem to be vast, but is apparently not nil — google Anisa Abd el Fattah or Caroline Keeble (though the latter will get quite a few false positives).