In an emailed press release titled “Menifee, Hemet, and Murrieta Tea Parties not involved in Temecula Mosque Protests,” California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne states that “The organizers of the Menifee, Hemet, and Murrieta Tea Parties wish to emphatically state that not only are they not involved in organizing any planned Mosque protest, but that we would strongly condemn the use of dogs to harass anybody, anywhere.” The press release also stated that “The vast majority of Tea Party people are honest, decent, patriotic Americans who love their country and believe in the values that made America great. We are neither racists or ‘Islamophobes.'” An excerpt of Shellie Milne’s press release was also posted as a comment on the Huffington Post.
The national Tea Party Patriots website lists Shellie Milne as a contact of local California Tea Parties in Riverside County, and refers to their web site at MenifeeTeaParty.com, which redirects you to the “Tea Parties of Riverside County.” The “Tea Parties of Riverside County” website includes their complete press release on the Temecula mosque protest. Shellie Milne’s telephone numbers are listed on that website as the point of contact for weekly “Tea Parties of Riverside County” meetings. Shellie Milne has told Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) that her activism included going to help others create and build new Tea Party organizations in California.
A meetup group also lists Shellie Milne as the Assistant Organizer of Menifee/Sun City Tea Party. A meetup group for the Murrieta Tea Party shows Shellie Milne as an Assistant Organizer, where on September 1, 2009, she wrote “Our family is new to the area and very determined to take our Country back. The Constitution must be saved. Sitting on the computer and just talking about it is not going to help anyone – get up and educate those around you.” Shellie Milne is also a member of “Moms for America.”
Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s (R.E.A.L.) Jeffrey Imm reached out to California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne for further details from her press release. California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne stated that she was a firm supporter of the United States Constitution and all of its freedoms, including freedom of religion. In her press release, Shellie Milne stated that Tea Party representatives are not “Islamophobes.” As a Mormon, Shellie Milne told R.E.A.L. that she was familiar with religious discrimination, and she supports the U.S. Constitutional freedom of religion.
California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne stated that the local Tea Parties around Temecula had a meeting of leaders who stated their objection to the mosque protest plans by the Southwest Riverside County (SWRC) Tea Party Citizens in Action group led by Diana Serafin, who Shellie Milne said that she knew. Shellie Milne stated that other local Tea Parties were going to prepare a press announcement rejecting the Temecula mosque protest, which we have not yet received, and we will provide an updated report should we receive any further press release.
California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne stated that local Tea Party groups had had “trouble” with the Southwest Riverside County (SWRC) Tea Party Citizens in Action group, and have sought to distance themselves from that group. In addition, Shellie Milne stated that the national Tea Party Patriots was a group that “anyone could join,” and that the Tea Party Patriots has had difficulty policing its website due to such openness.
Shellie Milne stated that the Tea Party Patriots had attempted to remove the mosque protest event posted there by the Southwest Riverside County (SWRC) Tea Party Citizens in Action group, but apparently the Tea Party Patriots has been unable to remove the continued July 30 event listing for the Temecula mosque protest that R.E.A.L. reported on July 28. Shellie Milne suggested that this may be due to some technical problem with the Tea Party Patriots website. On the “New Patriot Journal” listed as the news section for the Tea Party Patriots, we have been unable to see any reference to Temecula or the Temecula mosque, or any public statement on the Tea Party Patriots’ rejection of the Temecula mosque protest.
R.E.A.L. asked Shellie Milne about the other Tea Party groups and leaders that have made derogatory comments against Islam and sought to lead or support protests against American mosques, including high profile political individuals with or linked to the Tea Party.
Shellie Milne stated that she believed that the Tea Party was to support the U.S. Constitution and its freedoms, no matter what your emotional feelings might be about any one group. Shellie Milne stated her supporters reject the Temecula mosque protest planned for July 30 in California. Shellie Milne stated that she believed that those who do not focus on defending the U.S. Constitution are missing the point of what the Tea Party is about.
R.E.A.L. encourages others in the Tea Party movement to follow the leadership of Shellie Milne to reject “Islamophobia” and to recognize our freedom of religion and freedom of worship is defended by U.S. Constitution that the Tea Party activists state that they are seeking to defend.
Throughout July 2010, R.E.A.L. has contacted the National Tea Party organization FreedomWorks (1-888-564-6273) for comment on stories that continue to arise on Tea Party leaders, Islam, and mosque protests, and has not yet heard back from them on this issue. A search of “mosque” or “Temecula” on the FreedomWorks website shows no comments on the Temecula mosque protest or any mosque protest. (We have received feedback from FreedomWorks on racial issues in the recent past, but not on the mosque protests or statements on Islam.) Other R.E.A.L. supporters have contacted the Los Angeles Tea Party group and other California Tea Party groups on this topic. Shireen Qudosi posted an article on the topic “Tea Party Protest Against Temecula Mosque Points to Rising Tensions Between Islam and Right Wing Groups” at Qudosi.com.
Since there is no central leadership of the “Tea Party,” the challenge is that different groups all claim to represent the “Tea Party” view. On July 4, 2010, the Southwest Riverside County (SWRC) Tea Party Citizens in Action group, whose leader has promoted the Temecula mosque protest, stated that it had 25 individuals at its July 4 “parade” event. The question remains, on protests against mosques and Islam by Tea Party members around America, who speaks for the Tea Party on this issue, and why do the national Tea Party organizations remain silent on supporting freedom of religion and worship?
To other Tea Party activists who seek to stand up in support of freedom of religion and worship, we invite them (as we did at the beginning of July) to contact us at responsible.public@gmail.com, or to sign our online petition on this
On the R.E.A.L. website, we created a category for this topic called “Tea Party and Islam,” to allow readers to follow our reports on this subject, as we get additional news, statements, and reports on this subject.
The shortcut for this category is: http://bit.ly/tea-islam
While national Tea Party groups are silent on this issue, there are Tea Party groups and leaders around the country that continue to protest mosques and hold events on Islam. In the coast-to-coast protests against mosques and Islam, too often the Tea Party organizations keep getting mentioned.
The Texas NE Tarrant Tea Party is holding a July 29 event in a Texas school on how to stop the “Islamization of America,” days after an attack on an Arlington, Texas mosque children’s playground and harassment of worshipers. Led by “European Judeo-Christian” “culturist” John Press, the Brooklyn Tea Party’s leader is now calling for eminent domain to stop the construction of a mosque in Brooklyn, weeks after a Brooklyn protester told the press that he would “bomb the mosque.” Tennessee Tea Party groups and candidates for Congressional office continue to seek to protest and block a proposed mosque, while mosque signs have been vandalized. Unwillingness to defend freedom of religion and freedom of worship has consequences.
California Tea Party activist Shellie Milne’s responsibility in denouncing the planned Temecula protest against house of worship is an example that other Tea Party activists should support, if they support American Constitutional and universal human rights.
At the beginning of July 2010, R.E.A.L. created an online petition for Tea Party supporters to sign and show their public support for freedom of religion and freedom of worship. It simply states: “This petition is provided for Tea Party activists who support the United States Constitution, including our freedom of religion and worship, which must not be interfered with according to the 1st Amendment of the Constitution. This petition is for those Tea Party Activists who do NOT accept protests against mosques or any other houses of worship. This petition is for those Tea Party activists that seek to disassociate with those Tea Party activists who reject our universal human rights of freedom of worship and religion — for all. ”
R.E.A.L. is waiting for the first signature.
The online petition is at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/tpfree/petition.html
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