It was standing room only, and regrets to those who couldn't get in (Sammy over at Yid with Lid and Melissa Clouthier, sincere regrets). This despite the fact that we were off to the side and were going against Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Congressman Stephen King, Congressman Mike Pence, stealth jihadist Grover Norquist and several other panels.

Pamela Hall was at our inaugural and has a compelling post at the Vigilant Squirrel Brigade. And the intrepid blogger has videoed the entire event:

Here's part I: Pamela Geller and Wafa Sultan.

She is loading the rest, so watch this space.

Part III: Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff: facing "hate speech" charges in Austria

 

NEW VIDEO Part IV: Anders Gravers, Danish Leader for the Stop the Islamisation of Europe

 

NEW VIDEO Part V: Simon Deng Former Slave Sudan, Human Rights Activist, Leader of Freedom March

 

NEW VIDEO Part VI: Incredible, historic remarks by Lt Colonel Allen West (introduction Pamela Geller) Consider donating to his campaign:

Reader and attendee John wrote in the comments:

Readers, I was at the event. These photos do not do justice to the size of the audience; it was standing room only to the back door in a huge hall. In the audience shots above, the distance from the back of the heads to the stage was very large and that was perhaps a third of the width of the event. Very impressive.

Many expressed to me afterward that it was the most informative two hours they have ever spent, more confessed to having wept during some of the personal narratives.

Pamela Hall wrote:

Just returned from CPAC 2010. The high point was the inaugural event presented by Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs.

Once again, they've done a great public service for America. The TRUTH about "Jihad: The Political Third Rail" from unfiltered witnesses". In 2009, Geller and Spencer brought the honorable and very brave Geert Wilders to CPAC. This year, there were even more heroes in this War against Jihad; leading voices of truth and it was a riveting two hours. (We could have stayed there for another two hours.)

Geller said when announcing the event".... we have created an organization to stand up against this silence that threatens to our existence and render us defenseless as our freedoms and way of life are eroded away. We are launching the Freedom Defense Initiative, a new activist group, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2010, with a conference entitled "Jihad: The Political Third Rail -- What They Are Not Telling You."

Our nation is at war, and yet our politicians pretend that that war isn't happening. Barack Obama is intent upon trying enemy combatants in that war in civilian courts and making concession after concession to our enemies as if those concessions will make them love us. The mainstream media, both liberal and conservative, and the entire government and law enforcement apparatus appear determined to obfuscate and deny the truth about the enemy's ideology and belief system. This has the effect of minimizing in the minds of Americans the threat just as it is greater than ever and of rendering us blind to very real threats from people and groups that officials seem intent upon assuming to be innocuous.

And on CPAC she also said "....I find it most distressing that the largest gathering of conservatives in America does nothing to address the single greatest threat to our national security, our Constitution, our very way of life...... Our event, on the other hand, will feature the first public appearance of the Steve Coughlin: Former Pentagon Islam specialist, fired after pressure from Islamic infiltrators (1st public appearance). Also speaking will be Wafa Sultan: Author, A God who Hates, viral video star of Al-Jazeera debate with Islamic cleric, Simon Deng: Ex-slave, leading human rights activist against jihad in Sudan Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff: facing "hate speech" charges in Austria for telling the truth about Islam, Lt Colonel Allen West: War hero, Congressional candidate (FL 22nd district), future national leader, Robert Spencer and myself (Pamela Geller)"

There is a deliberate cover-up by incompetent media and government officials who have imposed the Islamic (sharia) law of slander across all systems of communication. According to Islamic law the definition of slander is anything that does not praise Islam.

Lots of pictures here and here.

The video (above was playing while people patiently waited on line to get into our first event under our new organization, The Freedom Defense Initiative.

“TO OUR GREAT DETRIMENT”: IGNORING WHAT EXTREMISTS SAY ABOUT JIHAD Steve Coughlin

Slander. Intuitively, for such an Islamic concept of war to succeed, one would
expect to see a largescale effort to keep the harbi unaware that such doctrinal-based
strategies exists. For authority on the limits of deception, “extremists” can look first to
the Qur’an and hadith:

Let not the Believers take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than Believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them. For Allah cautions you to remember Himself; for the final goal is to Allah. (Qur’an 3:28)

Anyone who, after accepting Faith in Allah, utters Unbelief – except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith – but such as open their breast to unbelief – on them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty. (Qur’an 16:106)

Muhammad said, "War is deceit." (Bukhari 4:267 and 269)

He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good
things, is not a liar. (Bukhari vol.3:857 p.533)

In tandem with the right to deceive harbi is the requirement to enforce nondisclosure
of those rules of Islam as an enforceable offense. Substantially different than
the American, the Islamic concept of slander fills this requirement:

r2.2 Slander (ghiba) means to mention anything concerning a person that he would
dislike.
r2.3 As for talebearing (namima), it consists of quoting someone’s words to another in a way that worsens relations between them.417 (Emphasis added

r2.6 The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
(1) “The talebearer will not enter paradise.”
(2) “Do you know what slander is?” They answered, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “It is to mention of your brother that which he would dislike.” Someone asked, “What if he is as I say?” And he replied, “If he is as you say, you have slandered him, and if not, you have calumniated him.”
(3) “The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim. He does not betray him, lie to him, or
hang back from coming to his aid.418 (Emphasis added)
r3.1 … In fact, talebearing is not limited to that, but rather consists of revealing anything whose disclosure is resented, whether presented by the person who originally said it, the person to whom it is disclosed, or by a third person. … The reality of talebearing lies in divulging a secret, in revealing something confidential whose disclosure is resented. A person should not speak of anything he notices about people besides that which benefits a Muslim to relate or prevents disobedience.419 (Emphasis added)
From such definitions, it is easy to see how a legally sanctioned code of silence
could be imposed and enforced. This rule helps explains why “moderate” Muslims can
insist that acts of terrorism undertaken by “extremists” (who self-identify as jihadis
claiming Islam as their motivation to crowds of applauding Muslims broadcast as such on
Arab stations) had nothing to do with Islam. But should such explanations control our
understanding of those same events? When looking to the definition of talebearing in
Section r2.6, it is worth observing that the statement of law comes from breaking a hadith
into the elements of the law. The legal standard forbids the disclosure of any sensitive
information to non-Muslims, where sensitive means any information that disadvantages
Islam or a Muslim. Hence the rule of law seems to be that any information that a Muslim
discloses to a non-believer that would cause a non-believer to question either Islam or a
Muslim is forbidden; the penalty being eternal damnation. This means that reliance on
individuals who are held to such a standard involves acceptance of the wholesale
subordination of our collection requirements to the disclosure rules dictated by Islamic
418 al-Misri, Book R “Holding One’s Tongue,” r2.0 “Slander,” r2.6.
419 al-Misri, Book R “Holding One’s Tongue,” r3.0 “Talebearing (Namima),” r3.1.
209
law. This is submission. It also turns all professional notions of competent analysis on
its head.420

http://www.strategycenter.net/docLib/20080107_Coughlin_ExtremistJihad.pdf

UPDATE: Atlas reader Mike G sent these pics: