CAIR is calling on American Muslims and other people of conscience to contact the organizers of the inaugural Tennessee Tea Party Convention to be held this weekend in Gatlinburg and ask that they drop an anti-Islam speaker who claims that “Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam” and that Islam “mandates” lies and deception.

The extremist anti-Islam speaker, far-right blogger Pamela Geller, is also head of the hate group Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA). At the convention, Geller is scheduled to speak about “The Threat of Islam.”

Today, Geller posted images on her blog purporting to depict Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Several of those images show the prophet as a pig. Another image, headlined “Piss Be Upon Him,” shows one of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet covered in urine. (“Piss Be Upon Him” is designed to mock the traditional phrase “Peace Be Upon Him” that Muslims use when mentioning any prophet of God.)

CAIR’s request comes just a day after the Washington-based civil rights and advocacy organization called on the Tea Party to repudiate “ignorant” comments made by one of its leaders, who wrote that Muslims worship a “monkey-god.” Mark Williams, chairman of the Tea Party Express, also wrote on his blog that Muslims are “animals of allah [sic].”

“The Tea Party needs to decide whether it is a legitimate national political movement or just a safe haven for bigots and extremists,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We ask that convention organizers not legitimize Geller’s extremist anti-Muslim rhetoric by offering her an official platform.”

CAIR press release, 20 May 2010

What has provoked CAIR, Geller claims, is her campaign against the plan to build a mosque and community centre near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York: “The grand jihadist Muslim Brotherhood at CAIR know what that means. It will be the icon, the rally call for every devout Muslim and jihadist across the world. They must have their symbol of conquest.”