Day: February 14, 2011

Aaron Proctor, the conservative-libertarian journalist suspended by Examiner.Com after a complaint from CAIR-Philadelphia, has been returned to duty.

Proctor had written articles about the controversial Islamic organization with regard to their looming March 12 banquet at the Springfield Country Club in Delaware County.

Proctor said, however, he has voluntarily removed his CAIR articles from the Examiner site and will not be writing about the organization or Islam for the publication.

He said, however, he will pursue the issue in other venues.

“This doesn’t mean I won’t be discussing the situation on my show tomorrow at blogtalkradio.com/proctorshow or in the future on ‘The Aaron Proctor Show,'” he said. “I am afforded a wonderful, weekly venue every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. that does not give me the constraints of my free speech like the ones instituted by Examiner.com.”

CAIR Articles Get Journalist Suspended — Aaron Proctor, who has been writing about libertarian matters for Examiner.Com since April, has been suspended from the organization due to  several articles he wrote critical of CAIR regarding CAIR-Philadelphia’s  March 12 banquet at the Springfield Country Club on Sproul Road.

In a letter to Examiner Category Director Jay Keller, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Mocin Khawaja implied Proctor made  statements that were “libelous and defamatory.” He  took special issue with Proctor pointing out that CAIR was an un-indicted co-conspirator in a terrorist case involving groups donating money to Hamas.

CAIR-Philadelphia and CAIR are legally distinct entities, Khawala said.

So there!

Mr. Khawala, for what it’s worth, the letterhead of your missive said CAIR Pennsylvania. If legalistic distinctions are your thing, maybe you ought to fix that.

One of the scheduled speakers at the event is Imam Johari Abdul-Malik. Is it “hate-speech” to point that out? Is it somehow more hateful to criticize CAIR — Philadelphia or otherwise — than it is to demean the murder of Fulton County, Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen by the former H.Rap Brown in 2000 as Malik did?

Khawala, showing the tolerance and restraint for which CAIR — the legal entity separate from CAIR-Philadelphia —  is famous, told Keller that he believes Proctor is  a security threat and that he has forwarded his Examiner profile picture to police.

Perhaps the message budding journalists should take is that if they want to criticize a religion they should stick to the Catholic Church or Christian evangelicals.

 

CAIR Articles Get Journalist Suspended