The human rights group American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) is restoring an FBI bus ad campaign in Seattle that was brought to a halt last month because of several complaints that they were racist against Muslims.
The AFDI ads exactly replicate the FBI ads, and will be appearing in Seattle in the near future, a press release stated. The ads feature pictures of 16 men wanted around the globe for terrorist activities below the words: “Faces of Global Terrorism.”
“You look at the pictures, they’re all one color of folks,” said Rep. Jim McDermott, a Washington Democrat who asked the FBI to pull the “racist” ads in June. “Terrorists come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re gonna talk about terrorists, then don’t just talk about people with brown skin. How many white faces were there on there?”
AFDI Executive Director Pamela Geller explained in a statement on Monday: “If McDermott wanted the FBI to leave the Muslims off the Most Wanted Terrorists ad, he’d first have to convince Muslims to stop committing terror attacks in the name of Islam. But instead, he succeeded in getting the FBI to remove the ads. The FBI caved to this ridiculous imposition of Sharia blasphemy laws and political correctness.”
“And that means that we’re going to have to do their job for them,” she continued. “We’re taking it upon ourselves to alert the public to the nature and magnitude of the terror threat. At our own expense, we’re going to run the same ad on Seattle buses.”
The Joint Terrorism Task Force recently launched a publicity campaign for the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program. According to AFDI, RFJ offers up to $25 million for information that helps stop terrorism.
SEE ALSO: Racist or reality? FBI pulls ‘Faces of Global Terrorism’ ads
The RFJ program “was instrumental in leading to the arrest of jihadist Ramzi Yousef, who is now in prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. This program saves lives,” AFDI said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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