Three white protestant speakers that are all self-proclaimed experts on Islam are headlining the “Summit.” The speakers include John Guandolo, Cathy Hinners, and Bill Warner, all of whom are linked to hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Mae Beavers, a Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee, has made her vehement anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant views a centerpiece of her campaign, calling it “National and State Security”:
“The terrorist threat from radical Islam not only impacts other countries or major cities in our own country — that threat is also targeted at our communities and our families in Tennessee, and I intend to make security a centerpiece of my campaign. For too long, your communities have been put in harm’s way by liberal immigration policies that have brought unvetted refugees into our communities and made us unsafe. No more! I am committed to pushing back against Washington, D.C. and demanding that anyone coming into our state from outside America be thoroughly vetted to make sure they want to be a part of our great nation and what it stands for.”
In support of her gubernatorial campaign, Beavers is hosting a fundraiser she calls a “Homeland Security Summit.” Unsurprisingly, she has invited three self-described “experts” to speak against Islam and Muslims:
John Guandolo, a conspiracy theorist who claims mosques are fronts for terrorist activity and “do not have a First Amendment right to do anything”;
Cathy Hinners, who runs an anti-Islam blog, claims mosques are taking over churches, and “considers being called out for her hatred by the Southern Poverty Law center a badge of honor”; and
Bill Warner, who maintains that Islam is contrary to civilization because “There is no Golden Rule in Islam.” (Which is false, by the way.)
I’m sure it will be a fair and balanced discussion.