Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > Support Michael Graham :Al Qaeda & Hamas linked CAIR intimidate ABC Radio to fire host who called Islam a terrorist organisation
Support Michael Graham :Al Qaeda & Hamas linked CAIR intimidate ABC Radio to fire host who called Islam a terrorist organisation
August 24, 2005
http://www.supportmichaelgraham.com/index.html
CAIR WINS, FREE SPEECH LOSES AT ABC RADIO
Statement by Michael Graham
Radio Station Gives In To CAIR Demands, Fires Host For Comments Regarding Islam
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, DC.
On July 25th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that I be "punished" for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism. Three days later, 630 WMAL and ABC Radio suspended me without pay for comments deemed "hate radio" by CAIR.
CAIR immediately announced that my punishment was insufficient and demanded I be fired. ABC Radio and 630 WMAL have now complied. I have now been fired for making the specific comments CAIR deemed "offensive," and for refusing to retract those statements in a management-mandated, on-air apology. ABC Radio further demanded that I agree to perform what they described as "additional outreach efforts" to those people or groups who felt offended.
I refused. And for that refusal, I have been fired.
It appears that ABC Radio has caved to an organization that condemns talk radio hosts like me, but has never condemned Hamas, Hezbollah, and one that wouldn't specifically condemn Al Qaeda for three months after 9/11.
As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show. As a conservative talk host whose job is to have an open, honest conversation each day with my listeners, I believe caving to this pressure is a disaster.
TAKE ACTION!
Please take a moment and send a polite but passionate note to those who forced Michael Graham off the air.
I for one cannot apologize for the truth and I cannot agree to some community-service style "outreach effort" to appease the opponents of free speech.
If I had made a racist or bigoted comment — which my regular listeners know goes against everything I believe in — I would apologize immediately, and without coercion. When I have made inadvertent fact errors in the past, I apologized promptly and without hesitation.
But we have now gone far beyond that, with demands that I apologize for the ideas my listeners and I believe in. It is not a coincidence that, after my suspension on July 28th, WMAL received more than 15,000 phone calls and emails protesting my removal from the airwaves.
Why such a huge response? It wasn't about me; The listeners I spoke to said they felt betrayed by my suspension because the vast majority of them agree with me on the subject of Islam. By labeling my statements as unacceptable, these listeners felt that WMAL management was insulting them, too.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I care about the listeners of 630 WMAL. I respect them and I appreciate the amazing support they have given me. 
Printer-friendly version 
Email this item to a friend