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Pamela Geller is an American political activist, blogger, and co-founder of Stop Islamization of America. Her advocacy against violent Islamism has led her to be one of the most visible opponents of the Park51 community center and mosque in lower Manhattan.

Her weblog, "Atlas Shrugs", is named in homage to Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, as she claims to be a supporter of Objectivist philosophy. The blog has been criticized by Media Matters for America and called "extreme" by The Guardian.

Early life, education and career

Before she started blogging and political advocacy, Geller spent nearly a decade at the New York Daily News. Her first position was as a financial analyst and she subsequently worked in the advertising and marketing departments. Later, Geller was associate publisher of The New York Observer for five years, in the early 1990s.

She later co-founded the Freedom Defense Initiative organization with Robert Spencer, a blogger and author of articles and books relating to Islam and Islamic terrorism. Mark Potok, a spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, has described Geller's rhetoric as "over the line" and "hate speech". She denies accusations of being anti-Muslim, saying that is "a slanderous slur and it's unfair".

In addition to her anti-Islam stance, Geller has also lent her support to a number of other political causes. She has been a strong defender of former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, and has denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps in the 1990s. She has also claimed that black South Africans are launching a "genocide" against whites and expressed support for the English Defence League.

Stop Islamization of America and Park51

Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded Stop Islamization of America.. In July 2010 their co-authored book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, was published. Two months earlier, they began a strong campaign against the proposed Park51 Islamic community center, which Geller has referred to as the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque". She claims that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land". Her organization has also sponsored anti-Muslim ads in several cities, and appeared on an array of cable news shows speaking out against the proposed Islamic Community Center. In addition to opposing Park51, Geller has opposed other mosques and argued that the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, one of the world's holiest Muslim sites, should be removed.

Geller first blogged in Atlas Shrugs about the proposed New York mosque in reaction to coverage in The New York Times on December 8, 2009. On December 21, she again blogged on the subject, referring to it as "Mosque at Ground Zero" and calling it "a stab in the eye". This was the same day conservative commentator Laura Ingraham interviewed Feisal Abdul Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, while guest-hosting The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. Ingraham said, "I like what you're trying to do." Geller didn't blog about the building again until May 24, 2010, when she reported on a self-selected reader poll connected with a report in the New York Daily News, urging her readers to vote in it. This is when she first used the phrase "Mega Mosque at Ground Zero".

Commenting on the specific "mosque" controversy, Geller said, "I'm not leading the charge against the Islamic center near Ground Zero. The majority of Americans – 70% – find this deeply insulting, offensive. To call it anti-Muslim is a gross misrepresentation and to say that I'm responsible for all this emotion, again a gross misrepresentation."

However, Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations has criticized Geller, stating:

"People say don't give her too much credit, she's a fringe character, but she is a fringe character who every day is on CNN, Fox, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She is the driving force behind the Islamic center campaign. I would say that she is the queen of the Muslim bashers, I see her rise and the rise of these anti-Islam hate groups going hand in hand."

Eric Boehlert, a senior fellow at Media Matters for America concurred with Hooper's sentiments, remarking that "she's been instrumental, she has whipped up hatred in the right-wing blogosphere and now that's spilled out into the wider community." Media Matters has further suggested that "Geller's history of outrageous, inflammatory and false claims, particularly when it comes to issues related to Islam, demonstrate that she cannot be expected to make accurate statements and should not be rewarded with a platform on national television."

Atlas Shrugs blog

The name of her website and blog, "Atlas Shrugs", is a reference to Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. Geller says Rand is "the greatest philosopher in human history," and that "I read the book in my early 20s when a close friend of mine whom I respected enormously casually mentioned it was her favorite book." Describing her blog, she said "My blog is, and its purpose is, clearly defined by Rand's philosophy."

Geller's blog concentrates on what she perceives to be a violent threat to the United States by Islamic extremists and liberal or socialist politicians. For instance, her blog was among the first on Nov 5, 2009 to declare the belief that the Fort Hood shooting was a "Muslim terror attack." Controversial postings on "Atlas Shrugs" have included a number of false claims, including that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan (who is Jewish) supports Nazi ideology (accompanied by a fake picture of her in a Nazi uniform), a video suggesting that Muslims have sex with goats, a doctored photo showing President Obama urinating on an American flag, and false claims that Obama's mother was involved in pornography and that Obama dated a "crack whore". Geller has also used her site to accuse President Obama of anti-Semitism and doing the bidding of "Islamic overlords," while posting an essay suggesting, without any evidence, that the President is the "love child" of Malcolm X.

Personal life

Geller was formerly married to Michael Oshry; the two had divorced.

Works

• Pamela Geller with Robert Spencer, foreword by (former) Ambassador John R. Bolton, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, (Threshold Editions, July 2010) ISBN 978-1439189306

References

1. ^ McGreal, Chris (August 20, 2010). "The US blogger on a mission to halt 'Islamic takeover'". Retrieved August 21, 2010.
2. ^ Burke, Daniel (August 20, 2010), "Pamela Geller, 'Queen Of Muslim Bashers,' At Center Of N.Y. 'Mosque' Debate, The Huffington Post
3. ^ "Memo to media: Pamela Geller does not belong on national television". July 14, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
4. "Attention TV networks: Pam Geller is lying to your viewers". August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
5. Freedlander, David (August 11, 2010), "The Woman Behind The Anti-Ground Zero Mosque Bus Ads", The New York Observer
6. "Biography", Freedom Defense Initiative
7. "Contact", Stop Islamization of America
8. ^ Elliott, Justin (August 16, 2010), "How the 'ground zero mosque' fear mongering began", Salon.com
9. Rehab, Ahmed (August 20, 2010), "Untold story behind the so-called 'Ground Zero mosque'", Chicago Tribune
10. Geller, Pamela (September 27, 2009). "Erev Yom: Muslims Riot, Attack Jews in Jerusalem - Policemen wounded in Temple Mt. riots". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
11. Geller, Pamela (December 8, 2009), "Giving Thanks", Atlas Shrugs
12. Blumenthal, Ralph & Mowjood, Sharaf (December 8, 2009), "Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero", The New York Times
13. Geller, Pamela (December 21, 2009), "Mosque at Ground Zero: Adding Insult to Agony", Atlas Shrugs
14. Geller, Pamela (May 24, 2010), "Vote on Mega Mosque at Ground Zero", Atlas Shrugs
15. Goldsmith, Samuel (May 24, 2010), "Lower Manhattan board mixed on planned mosque and Islamic center at Ground Zero WTC site", ] (New York)
16. McCain, Robert Stacy (October 5, 2007). ""'Atlas,' at last, on map; Rand's novel set for 50th fete, film adaptation"". Washington Times. p. A.2.
17. Muslim Terror Attack: 'Twelve shot dead' 12 30 Wounded, Mass Shooting at Fort Hood, US Army Base
18. Dimiero, Ben (2010-07-02). "Geller illustrates ridiculous attack on Kagan with image of Kagan in a Nazi uniform". Media Matters. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
19. "Attention TV networks: Pam Geller is lying to your viewers". Media Matters. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
20. Geller, Pamela (2010-07-02). "SHOCKING: Kagan's Princeton Thesis Cited German Socialist Who Endorsed Nazis". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
21. Geller, Pamela (2009-08-01). "CNN Tells, Sells More Lies About Palin -- it's Time to Expose the truth about Obama". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
22. Edelman, Susan & Hamilton, Brad (July 15, 2007), "'Car-Scam' Link Eyed", New York Post

External links

• Atlas Shrugs Pamela Geller's blog
• Pamela Geller's Blog at Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com
• Pamela Geller's article archive on The American Thinker
• Freedom Defense Initiative
• Stop Islamization of America
• Pamela Geller at IMDb

Coverage

• The Woman Behind The Anti-Ground Zero Mosque Bus Ads, David Freedlander, The New York Observer, August 11, 2010

• Living people
• Anti-Islam activists
• Historical revisionism (negationism)