‘Defeat Jihad’ Billboards Could Come to DC Metro
A new ad campaign targeting Muslims, which debuted last month in New York, could be coming to Washington’s Metro system, according to Politico, but local transportation officials are fighting it in court.
The campaign, from the group American Freedom Defense Initiative, features text that reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.” It ends thus: “Support Israel/Defeat Jihad.”
The ads were set to go up in four stations late last month, but following attacks on U.S. embassies, including one in Libya that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority reconsidered, saying in court documents that the ads would “expose passengers to terrorism and threaten their safety,” according to Politico.
WMATA Police Chief Michael Taborn recommended delaying the campaign, according to Politico, saying that the transit agency received a typo-riddled message last month saying, “Defenders of the Honor of Islam” are prepared to do “whatever is necessary” in retaliation against the ad campaign, including attacking “empty” metro buses and rail cars and “sabotaging” ground services.
The American Freedom Law Center filed a suit on behalf of the AFDI, calling WMATA's actions "unconstitutional."
