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It鈥檚 not only the religious right that鈥檚 telling tall tales about a proposed new federal hate crimes law.

Amir Abdel Malik Ali, a Muslim cleric who on California campuses, falsely that the law would prevent Americans from expressing negative views about Israel or Jews. As Ali tells it, none other than 鈥渢he Zionists鈥� are behind this attempt to crush free speech.

鈥淵鈥檃ll know Rahm Emanuel, the Zionist Jew?鈥� Ali asked a crowd of roughly 70 during his May 14 speech at the University of California, Irvine. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the chief of staff for President Obama. For our non-Muslim friends, when President Obama chose Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, the Muslims knew just what was happening. As soon as he chose Rahm Emanuel, we said 鈥楿h-oh, oh, Barack is owned. He鈥檚 owned by the Zionists.鈥欌��

Ali contends it鈥檚 Emanuel who鈥檚 pushing the hate crimes bill, which is chock full of perks for Jews. 鈥淪ince it鈥檚 Rahm Emanuel, if this bill is passed 鈥� listen to me! 鈥� if this bill is passed, it will be a crime to criticize Israel鈥檚 treatment of the Palestinians, it will be a crime to report the extraordinary influence of AIPAC [the pro-Israel lobby], it will be a crime to doubt any aspects of the Holocaust.鈥�

In fact, Ali asserted that those who question that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust could go to prison under the proposed law. What鈥檚 more, 鈥淚f you talk about the disproportionate numbers of Jews, Zionist Jews, in the media, in finance and foreign policy, that鈥檚 a crime. That鈥檚 a crime! So what you鈥檙e talking about, if this bill is passed, is that you can criticize any country in the world except the apartheid state of Israel. That鈥檚 under the Hate Prevention Act of 2009 [sic].鈥�

While Ali鈥檚 diatribe received applause, it鈥檚 completely untrue. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act would not curtail any of the free speech rights that Americans currently enjoy, including the right to deny the Holocaust or trot out anti-Jewish canards. Rather, the act would increase funding for state and local authorities to prosecute hate crimes, including those based on sexual orientation. It would also allow federal authorities to investigate and prosecute hate crimes when state or local agencies don鈥檛 do so.

But Ali, an Oakland imam who was invited to Irvine by the Muslim Student Union, didn鈥檛 respond directly to an audience member鈥檚 assertion that he鈥檇 gotten his facts wrong. During previous speeches on California campuses, Ali has asserted that Zionist Jews control the media and perpetrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 鈥� so it鈥檚 probably no surprise that he鈥檚 promoting falsehoods about the hate crimes bill.

But he does make a strange bedfellow for religious-right anti-gay groups, which are also about the proposed legislation. These groups claim that by protecting Americans of all 鈥渟exual orientations,鈥� the act would actually extend legal protection to pedophiles and those with deviant (and often illegal) sexual fetishes. This is incorrect; by 鈥渟exual orientations,鈥� the act refers only to heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality. Leading religious right organizations also have falsely claimed, in hundreds of thousands of E-mails and other communications to their supporters, that the act would allow authorities to imprison pastors who criticize homosexuality from the pulpit.

Meanwhile, for those who missed him at Irvine, Ali is scheduled to speak at the University of California, Riverside鈥檚 Muslim Student Association today.

Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism photo