WAMU 88.5 : Morning Edition

Filed Under:

Anti-Muslim Ads Go Up In Four Metro Stations

By: Elliott Francis // October 8, 2012
Play associated audio
comments
A WMATA employee posts one of the anti-Islamic billboards in the Glenmont Metro station. A federal judge ruled Oct. 6 that the ads must be posted by 5 p.m. today.
Armando Trull
A WMATA employee posts one of the anti-Islamic billboards in the Glenmont Metro station. A federal judge ruled Oct. 6 that the ads must be posted by 5 p.m. today.

Metro has started putting up the controversial anti-Islamic ads after a judge ruled Friday that the agency could not refuse to post them. 

The ads, which will be installed at Glenmont and Takoma Metro stations on the Red Line and U Street/Cardozo and Georgia Ave/Petworth stations on the Green Line, are black with white letters. "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad," stated the poster being installed at Glenmont this morning. 

The ads were purchased by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which also paid to install the posters in the New York City subway system last month.

Metro had delayed posting the ads pending the court decision. Basing the argument on the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said in a one-page opinion Friday that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority must display the advertisement no later than 5 p.m. today. 

Officials at Metro held off on posting the ads because of the violent reaction to the "Innocence of Muslims," video which mocked the prophet Muhammad and fueled protests in the Middle East, according to the Associated Press.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative sued last month for the right to display those ads in the Metro system. A lawyer for the group calls the decision "absolutely correct." The agency will comply with the judge's order, according to a spokesperson for Metro.

The ads have caused controversy elsewhere, including last month in New York City when a Muslim woman was arrested for spray-painting over the posters.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Book News: Kim Jong Un Reportedly Gave 'Mein Kampf' As Gifts

Also: The folly of marathon readings; Tom Wolfe has a new book; VICE apologizes for tasteless photo spread.

Food

NPR

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.

Politics

NPR

Obama Evokes Cold War In Speech At Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

Against a backdrop that evoked the Cold War, President Obama renewed his push to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles on Wednesday. Obama delivered an address outside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. He also meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Technology

NPR

FBI Director Says Agency Is Using Drones Over The U.S.

Robert Mueller told the Senate the FBI used drones rarely and for surveillance proposes. The DEA and the ATF had both revealed they possessed drones.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.