Islamic Society of Tulsa honors "Truthers"
zTruth is a blog, evidently based here in Tulsa, that focuses on Islamic organizations in the West and the spread of dhimmitude, homeland security, and immigration enforcement. Here's a recent entry with a stunning insight into attitudes of the leadership of the Islamic Society of Tulsa:
On August 25th, The Council of American Islamic Relations, CAIR of Oklahoma, and the Islamic Society of Tulsa honored 25 non-Muslims. Three of the evening awards went to Joe Picorale, John Fanning and Jim Robinson who were honored along with 22 other honorees for their contribution in promoting peace, goodwill and a greater understanding of mainstream Muslim beliefs.Who are Joe Picorale, John Fanning and Jim Robinson? They are the three founders of TulsaTruth who believe, among other things, that there was a controlled demolitions of the WTC on 9/11 and that it was a conspiracy to frame the Muslim world. They also believe there is no proof Osama Bin Laden was involved in 9/11. I guess his videos that play the martyr wills of the men who flew the planes into the World Trade Center aren't good enough.
Read the whole thing to read the praise offered to the three "Truthers" by Allison Moore, who nominated them for the honor.
Here's a description of the awards evening from the Islamic Society of Tulsa's September 2007 newsletter (large PDF download):
On August 25th, the Islamic Society of Tulsa and the Council on American Islamic Relations co-sponsored a gala evening to reinforce our relations with people of extraordinary goodwill in our state. These non-Muslims supported Muslims through hard times, defended Muslim's rights and promoted our causes. At the event, they were recognized with a plaque, candies, corsages and boutonnieres and their remarkable actions were retold to the audience. The evening ended with the honorees walking down the red carpet with lines of applauding Muslims on both sides.
The PDF includes a list of the honorees (including former Mayor Susan Savage and Deputy Mayor Tom Baker) and photos of the event, including the very attractive plaques that were given to each honoree.
It's a noble thing for a community to honor outsiders who have been especially kind of helpful to them. But what does it say about the Islamic Society of Tulsa that its leaders would choose to honor these people who deny that radical Islamists killed 3000 people on September 11, 2001, but banned a man like Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who wrote an op-ed condemning terrorism in the name of Islam?
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Mike,
For a guy who does a great job exposing lies and deception surrounding local issues, you sure are quick to mockingbird the government's conspiracy theory regarding 9-11.
I would like to hear your expert analysis of the unprecedented, physic defying, explosive, universal, spontaneous collapse of the Twin Towers, as well as the apparent implosion of WTC7 that dropped in what appeared to be a typical controlled demolition at approximately 5:20 pm. It sure would put my mind at ease to know I am dead wrong in thinking these were pre-planned demolitions and that we were attacked by a group of Saudis from caves who hate our freedom.
Joe
Mr. Bates,
I had the opportunity to read your article about the Tulsa Truth Group and the Islamic Society of Tulsa. I personally nominated the Tulsa Truth Group because they have given Tulsa Muslims the opportunity to speak out against terrorism. Your other blogs criticize Muslims for not speaking out. Yet when I do, you choose to twist my words, lied about my intentions and misrepresented the award I nominated them to receive. I am deeply troubled that you assume, without contacting me or anyone from the mosque, that I support such a ludicrous allegation. I in no way support what you suggested and I feel that your bias is damaging the welfare of the entire Tulsa Community.
If you are serious about truth in reporting, you will contact the individuals you write about to get the facts straight. I have been active in the Tulsa community for years, I have many Christian and Jewish friends, and they know that I believe in a building bridges approach and breeding harmony within our community. Advertising fabricated hate and bias hurts us all.
With deep concern,
Allison Moore
Dear Ms. Moore,
I did not twist your words or lie about your intentions. I have not written anything inaccurate or misleading. I quoted directly from the IST newsletter account of the gala and the description of the award and provided a link to allow my readers to read the IST newsletter article in full. I also linked to another blog which reported your words of praise for the three Truthers who were among the gala's honorees. Was either quotation inaccurate?
I'm happy to hear that you do not believe the Truthers' version of events on 9/11. But whether you like it or not, IST's decision to honor Tulsa Truth sends a very different message. Whatever good deeds Picorale, Fanning, and Robinson may have done for IST, their organization exists for the purpose of claiming that the attack on America was perpetrated by our own government, not by 19 Muslim men from the Middle East who were motivated by their interpretation of Islam. That is Tulsa Truth's mission, and honoring their organization tells the watching world that you honor their organization's mission.
I too want to see Tulsa Muslims speak out against terrorism, which is why I was so encouraged to read Jamal Miftah's Tulsa World op-ed last year. Based on the Tulsa Muslims I have known -- one of whom I consider a good friend -- I assumed that most of them shared Miftah's sentiments. IST's treatment of Miftah was surprising, and it altered my perception of the Islamic Society of Tulsa.
Actions speak louder than words, and the contrast between IST's treatment of Jamal Miftah and IST's honoring of Tulsa Truth speaks volumes.
Dear Michael,
I have been an avid reader of Urban Tulsa for many years. I like the independent, investigative journalism you and your colleagues provide each week. For this reason, I am extremely disappointed in your blog article about the local Muslim organization honoring Tulsa Truth's founders. As one of the founders, I can tell you with confidence that you misrepresented Tulsa Truth's purpose and mission, then wrongly assumed the local CAIR groups supports these falsehoods.
First, referencing the zTruth blog implies that it is a credible and unbiased source of information. To the contrary, this blog is full of bigotry, fear mongering and propaganda lacking all journalistic integrity. Second, both zTruth and you have grossly misrepresented Tulsa Truth. As a local grassroots organization we are part of the growing, global 9/11 Truth Movement. As you can see from the recent poll, we are not exactly a fringe group of conspiracy nuts.
MSNBC POLL SHOWS 66% BELIEVE GOVERNMENT LYING ABOUT 9/11
Do you believe any of the conspiracy theories suggesting the U.S. government was somehow involved in 9/11? * 87,366 responses
Yes. The government has left many questions unanswered about that day.
66%
No. These theories are absurd and disrespectful -- especially to those who lost their lives on 9/11.
29%
I'm not sure.
5.4%
Gee Michael, only 2/3 of the population believe there are many unanswered questions about 9/11. If the government has nothing to hide, why are they hiding everything?
Based upon your simple explanation that a recent Bin Laden video confirms that the official conspiracy theory is true (and those that question the official story are crazy), I'm amazed at your apparent lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the 100's of anomalies and unanswered questions about the 9/11 attacks. (Did you know that the FBI admits it has no hard evidence against Bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks? Can you explain the collapse of WTC building #7 or the NORAD's inabilty to intercept any of the highjacked planes?)
There is a plethora of websites, books and films on the subject from many credible, intelligent patriots yet corporate media continues to dismiss and discredit the mounting evidence. Certainly you know that the 9/11 Commission Report is a total shame, don't you? If not, please watch Press For Truth. I suggest visiting www.patriotsquestion911.com and www.911truth.org as a good place to start if you care to educate yourself and face the uncomfortable reality that some level of government complicity and cover up is apparent. Yes, the implications are ominous and tear at our fundamental belief system. I would like to quote J. Edgar Hoover, "A man is handicapped when confronted with a conspiracy so monstrous he can not believe it exists."
Your misrepresentation of Tulsa Truth's purpose and mission needs to corrected. For the record, Tulsa Truth is a group of concerned citizens that simple want a new independent investigation to find out what really happened on 9/11 and bring justice to the perpetrators. I would be relieved to know for certain that the official story is correct. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests otherwise.
Just because some of our members have publicly stated "9/11 was an inside job" does not mean that our organization or Oklahoma CAIR fully endorse that position. We encourage everyone to do their own research and come to their own conclusions. The quote at the top of our web site, by Dr. Bob Bowman, may best state our position, "The truth about 9/11 is we don't know the truth and we should."
Michael, I think we can agree that whatever happened on 9/11, the events that day have been exploited to justify two wars and legislation that has stripped all Americans of important civil liberties. The neocon agenda of this rogue Administration would not have been possible if not for 9/11, their "New Pearl Harbor". Was this just good fortune and coincidence or a carefully orchestrated false flag attack? I think our country should know, don't you?
I strongly urge you to research this topic or risk the embarrassment of being totally deceived about the most significant event in our lives. If you're interested, I would be glad to meet with you to discuss the 9/11 and Tulsa Truth.
Peace, Truth and Justice,
Jim Robinson
Founder
Tulsa Truth
Mr. Robinson:
Your comments about zTruth are typical of a tactic used to divert attention from the issue at hand.
It's a red flag in my book that you are being evasive.
Tell me exactly what I reported that is inaccurate which caused you to criticize my blog the way you did.
B. L. Eave
zTruth
Jim Robinson somehow believes the result of one small poll can translate to say 2/3 of the entire population believes 9/11 didn't happen the way our government said it did.
This should be the first clue that the reasoning of this group may be quite faulty. I mean straight from TulsaTruth we read: "Richard Gage of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth (AE911TRUTH.ORG) will be speaking in Tulsa... He proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that all three skyscrapers that fell on 9/11 did not fall from jet fuel alone."
Robinson trys to explain away a video they made as "just because some of our members say 9/11 was an inside job". This is an dishonest attempt to make one think this was the work of just a few. All you have to do is go on their website and the bulk of what they talk about seems to be this allegation.
The video in question showed TulsaTruthers handing out DVDs about 9/11 and that it was an inside job and used as an excuse to invade the Middle East and take away your freedom.
To me, this group has chosen to take the side against our government in a time of war. They are traitors in my book.