Middle East Forum Reports CAIR Misstates the Facts About Sen. Arlen Specter

PHILADELPHIA, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Senator Arlen Specter had to withdraw as a speaker at a conference on "Libel Lawfare" hosted by the Middle East Forum (http://www.meforum.org/) today in Washington, D.C., along with the Federalist Society, the Center for National Security Law and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.

In light of an inaccurate and misleading press release issued by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, several points need to be clarified regarding Specter's actions, as well as the nature of the conference itself.

First, Senator Specter withdrew from the conference two days prior to the circulation of an online CAIR petition demanding he do so.

Second, Senator Specter remains one of the sponsors of the Free Speech Protection Act and, as such, remains a stalwart defender of free speech.

Third, the senator's office confirmed that the petition circulated by CAIR had nothing to do with his change in plans. As James Taranto wrote for the Wall Street Journal, "As for Specter, his backing out of the conference could not have been a direct response to the CAIR petition, since the former predated the latter."

Fourth, CAIR's press release is incorrect in several ways:

1. The conference is not an anti-Islam event, but addresses the phenomenon of libel lawfare, being waged by Islamists who seek to censor discussion of Islam, radical Islam, terrorism, and the sources of terrorist funding.
2. CAIR alleges that the conference is based on the premise that "American Muslims are involved in a concerted effort to suppress free speech by misusing the American legal system." This is CAIR's fantasy, not a view held by the conference organizers.

Fifth, CAIR is demonstrating, once again, why such a conference as this one, protecting free speech from Islamists, is necessary. Again citing the Wall Street Journal:

    We do not have a strong opinion as to whether, as CAIR puts it,
    "American Muslims are involved in a concerted effort to suppress free
    speech on Islam." Running a petition to pressure an elected official not
    to participate in a conference on the subject would seem, however, to
    fit that description.

For those unable to attend the conference, its proceedings will be recorded and made available to the public.

For more information about Islamist lawfare, please visit the Legal Project's website, http://www.legal-project.org