The notice in the Fairfax Station Patch on Tuesday was brief, but to Laurie Jaghlit it felt like a punch in the gut.
At the next meeting of Republican Women of Clifton, a guest speaker would discuss “the treatment of women in Islamic society and how she believes the Hijab is a catalyst for Islamic terrorism.” The Feb. 20 meeting would take place at Fairview Elementary School, five miles from Jaghlit’s house.
Jaghlit, a 52-year-old grandmother who raised nine children in Fairfax Station and Herndon, wears the hijab, or Islamic head covering. She had heard about talks like this in other parts of the country but had never confronted the issue so close to home.
“If that’s not hateful and inciteful speech, I don’t know what is,” she said. “This is a diverse area. You’d think that hopefully we’d be beyond this. “
On Thursday, the Washington-based Council on American-
Islamic Relations contacted Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack D. Dale and asked him to rescind approval for the group to use the school. In an e-mail that CAIR shared with The Washington Post, Dale denied the request, saying, “After school hours, anyone may rent the public facilty.”Republican Women of Clifton, a seven-year-old, 100-member club, meets monthly at the school. In a news release, it said the talk, by Stephanie Reis, founder of the Omaha chapter of ACT! for America, “will focus on the treatment of women in Islamic society and how the Hijab is a catalyst for Islamism because it leads to the mentality of passive terrorism and silent support for Sharia Law in Western societies.”
RWC’s president, Alice Butler-Short, identified sharia, or Islamic law, in the news release as one of “the forces working to destroy our liberty.”
School systems often rent out space to churches, synagogues, community groups, clubs and business groups. They are not in the habit of “approving” the ideology behind the group. It’s very common practice to rent school space–directions are easy and the price is usually a lot less than using hotel centers. It would be highly irregular for a school system to refuse to rent space because of content, even if controversial. For instance, Help Save Manassas used to rent school space at one of the local schools in Westgate. To my knowledge, no one ever opposed that they were renting school space. Green is green.
One of the women speakers, Stephanie Reis, recently moved to the area from Omaha and obviously has some strong feelings on the matter. Ms. Reis declined to comment on the controversy. The following has been attributed to her:
The Omaha ACT! for America Web site quotes her as saying, “Although the Omaha area isn’t overrun with militant Islamists, this area is not immune to radical Islamic intimidation. Our chapter seeks to educate local citizens about the war that has been declared on America by jihadists and equip our citizens with peaceful, constructive tools to bring about a positive change in local policy and public opinion.”
The spokesperson from CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) had the following to response:
“It’s one thing for hatemongers to rent a private facility and spew their bigotry, but it’s another for a taxpayer-funded public school to offer it to speakers who will promote bigotry and intolerance,” he said. “What does it say to the students who have to go to the school the next day, perhaps wearing hijab or being identified as Muslims, the day after someone has been at the school saying the hijab is a catalyst for terrorism?”
The spokesperson missed the point that the Republican women rented the building and do so on a monthly basis. This event is a one time deal. Additionally, students not advised of any of the rental activities that take place in the school. CAIR is definitely over-reaching on this one.
School systems do not try to regulate speech. Groups are not excluded because someone doesn’t like the group’s point of view. All applicants are treated the same and are expected to go by the same rules. This policy has been upheld by the courts.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jaghlit, who also works part time for CAIR, will not go quietly. She and other Muslim women plan on attending the meeting to have their “non-terrorist voices heard.”
I’m sure just the presence of hejabi women in the audience will do enough to hopefully get them to realize that this is pure nonsense,” she said, adding that some RWC members may turn out to be people she knows.
That sounds like intimidation to me.
It certainly sounds like the good women of Clifton got blind sided. The Reis woman seems to have an agenda of sorts. But that doesn’t mean anyone has to throw the first amendment out the window. The Republican women should be able to have whatever speaker they want at their meeting. Let the women hear the speaker and form their own opinions. Obviously, the hijab is not something most of us know a great deal about. One person’s opinion doesn’t strip away the civil rights of any group. Nor should the Clifton Republican women be accused of promoting hate-speech. Perhaps the speaker of this meeting is a biased bigot. Who knows.
I listened to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he was in New York. He was a controversial speaker. Are we that afraid of the ideas of others? The Clifton women shouldn’t have to pass a litmus test of approval to rent school space. They should have to go by the same rules as everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less. Ms. Jaghlit might be affirming that very notion that she wants to dispell by her actions.
What would have happened if Ms. Jaghlit had contacted the Clifton Republican women and asked to join the discussion rather than the direction this is going? Ms. Jaghlit needs to remember about that rascally 1st amendment as it relates to free speech.
I suppose I have to agree with your conclusion, but this is a dust-up that needn’t have happened and the Republican women of Clifton (or at least their program organizers) must have been in a deep sleep the last few months if they think this kind of speaker does Republicans any good in shaking off their self-imposed minority status.
If the description of the presentation is accurate, there certainly is an agenda here. The hijab is a central manifestation of Islamic religious practice for some Muslims. If the presentation is that it is a catalyst for terror, that’s pretty damned offensive. One can hope that there are enough Muslim Republican women (whether they wear the hijab or not) who will show up wearing them at the meeting. I can understand, however, that they might not feel particularly welcome. Ms. Butler-Short doesn’t help much by her gratuitous remark about Sha’aria law being a “force to destroy our liberty”.
Why not have a respectable scholar give a talk on the history of Islam, or on Islamic customs such as the hijab, without all the provocation?
There are people in this country who will not rest until every Muslim in the world hates us. This kind of nonsense gets Americans killed.
I agree with everything you wrote, MH. I have never heard anyone make the case that the hajib relates to terrorism, but it might be worth discussing whether women are forced to submit to Sharia law within Islamic communities in the U.S..
I suspect attendance at this meeting will be very good for this group.
Sounds like a potential selection for Fairfax Public School AP reading list.
It sounds like the Muslim women just want to prove the guest speaker’s point. Good post, Moon.
I agree with Scout’s summation.
It does the Republican Party no good to promote the tin foil hat crowd’s agenda when there are other more objective and knowledgable people in the DC area who could answer questions about the hijab.
A little snippet of Ms. Reis in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jizv_70a64s
Emma – the Speaker’s point – if the advance publicity is accurate – is that there is a link between the custom of the hijab and terrorism. How is it that Muslim women taking issue with that position prove the point?
Hmmm, does this logic apply to nuns, Hasidic women who wear wigs?
Great post Moon! Your summary was right on!
Elena – I assume that the alarm is equally intense over orthodox Jewish women (who must also cover their hair). I always found nuns in full habit to be immensely terrifying when I was a kid. The rumour in my peer group (6-year old boys), a rumour never disproved, was that they didn’t have legs and moved around on wheels.
@Scout
The entire program description in the Patch seems like an accident looking for a place to happen and very much like they have been infiltrated by Glenn Beck. Now to me, Glenn Beck is just as scary for America as some of the right wing robo-talking coming out of Reis’s mouth in Nebraska.
It sounded to me like the ladies of Clifton have been asleep or perhaps they are being used. The article said that Reis had relocated to this area and I thought it said she was now a member of this organizaton. I can see someone pushing their agenda down everyone’s throat, even more so after seeing the video. At any rate, Reis did this group no favors.
I think I am on a soap box saying I agree, Scout.
@Scout
My brother was terrified of nuns also.
@Scout You might want to address your question to Moon, who said “Ms. Jaghlit might be affirming that very notion that she wants to dispell by her actions.”
I was agreeing with her.
Its a rare day.
Either one is fine. I don’t follow.