Talk show host Bill Maher said Friday he would like to join a crowd-funded lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center. The host of the HBO show “Real Time” said the civil rights group “were being assholes” by including British activist Maajid Nawaz on its list of “anti-Muslim extremists.”
Nawaz, a former Islamist and founder of a think tank called the Quilliam Foundation, said on Maher’s show that he was “sick and tired” of such criticism from “well-meaning liberals” and would mount a crowd-funded defamation suit against the SPLC.
“I’d like to be part of the crowd,” Maher said.
In its “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists” the SPLC says, “the evidence suggests that Nawaz is far more interested in self-promotion and money than in any particular ideological dispute. He told several different versions of his story, emphasizing that he was deradicalized while in Egypt — even though he in fact continued his Islamist agitation for months after returning.” SPLC’s principle argument against Nawaz appears to be that his organization supports broad intelligence gathering measures, including monitoring people not accused of crimes, if doing so can prevent future terrorist attacks.
The guide points to comments by Nawaz such as “the ideology of non-violent Islamists is broadly the same as that of violent Islamists; they disagree only on tactics” and “in fact, academic institutions in Britain have been infiltrated for years by dangerous theocratic fantasists. I should know: I was one of them” as proof of his extremism.
Also cited as proof in the guide was that in 2014 “Nawaz tweeted out a cartoon of Jesus and Muhammad — despite the fact that many Muslims see it as blasphemous to draw Muhammad. He said that he wanted ‘to carve out a space to be heard without constantly fearing the blasphemy charge.'”
Nawaz said being listed as such by the SPLC potentially endangered his safety. “We know what happens when you list heretics. They end up dead,” he said.
In 2012, a man walked into the DC office of the Family Research Council, a Christian conservative group, and shot a guard, part of an apparent attempt to target the council’s officials. The attacker, who later plead guilty to assault with intent to kill and other crimes, said that he targeted the nonprofit group because he wanted to intimidate opponents of gay rights. He was carrying 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches in a backpack at the time. FRC is well-known for its opposition to gay marriage and gay rights in general. SPLC had labeled it a hate group and placed it on a list including Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups. The FRC alleged that the SPLC’s listing was a key factor in its being targeted. The center has said the council deserved the listing based on comments its officials have made.
