Radio host Michael Savage sues Council on American-Islamic Relations

By M&C US News Dec 1, 2007, 19:40 GMT

EPA/FAROOQ KHAN

Radio talk show host Michael Savage has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and has accused the organization of being a "political vehicle of international terrorism" that seeks to do "material harm to those voices who speak against the violent agenda of CAIR's clients."

WolrdNetDaily report that the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in California, seeks damages equal to the ongoing donations from CAIR supporters "who expect CAIR to act in this manner in exchange for continuing financial support" as well as "actual damages according to proof."

The actions were spurred by the use of Savage's soundbites in audio clips that CAIR has been using in its promotions and fundraising efforts.

Those comments from Savage's show include:

"I'm not gonna put my wife in a hijab. And I'm not gonna put my daughter in a burqa. And I'm not getting' on my all-fours and braying to Mecca. And you could drop dead if you don't like it. You can shove it up your pipe. I don't wanna hear any more about Islam. I don't wanna hear one more word about Islam. Take your religion and shove it up your behind. I'm sick of you."

But the lawsuit maintains freedom of speech and that taken in context, Savage's comments reflect a majority of American feelings on this subject.

"The audience of 'The Savage Nation' expects this type of from-the-heart outrage and when it is directed at a murderer such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his ilk, the piece is far more understandable and far more American mainstream. While the strength of the outrage is remarkable and a hallmark of 'The Savage Nation,' the sentiment is shared by a huge number of Americans," the lawsuit said.

"The copyright material properly viewed is a scream of outrage on behalf of the American public against beheadings, hangings of homosexuals, mutilation of women, the torture of rape victims and the thought that CAIR and other groups are trying to import these atrocities into American life," the lawsuit said.

CAIR misappropriated the copyright material and tailored it to their own self-promotional needs to generate funds for its operations, despite being warned that its use was a copyright infringement.

The lawsuit, filed by celebrity attorney Daniel Horowitz, also named as defendants "Does 1-100."

"'The Savage Nation' is unique among so-called 'Talk Radio' in that it combines serious intellectual analysis with dramatic and emotional soul baring that the show advertises as 'Psychological Nudity'. This performance aspect of the show is critical in that it conveys an emotional power and a fundamental honesty to the programming that is meaningful to the listening audience," the lawsuit said.

"There are segments of the show that are as lyrical and as emotionally powerful as live theater, poetry, rap music or other genres where a performer combines social commentary with powerful performance. In fact the start of show always begins with the admonishment: 'Warning: This show contains adult language, adult content, psychological nudity. Listener discretion is advised," the document continued.

Savage has said:  "What sane nation that worships the U.S. Constitution, which is the greatest document of freedom ever written, would bring in people who worship a book that tells them the exact opposite? Make no mistake about it, the Quran is not a document of freedom. The Quran is a document of slavery and chattel. It teaches you that you are a slave."

The lawsuit further accuses CAIR, "which is self anointed as the representative of the civil rights of Muslim Americans," of being "a political organization that advocates a specific political agenda."

"Just as all religions are free to practice in the United States, Michael Savage is free to exercise his beliefs without having someone in the opposition steal his property and convert it for their own use. The violation of the copyright and the desecration of that copyright material is a violation of the freedoms of Michael Savage to express his views," said the action.

According to Savage's lawyers, CAIR was founded in 1994 by Ibrahim Hooper, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, "all of whom had close ties to the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which was established by senior Hamas operative Mousa Abu Marzook."

And the action noted the FBI has concluded the IAP is "a Hamas front … (that is) controlled by Hamas, it brings Hamas leaders to the U.S., it does propaganda for Hamas."

Savage's suit seeks a jury trial, plus "general and special damages" for the actions that were "wanton, willful and malicious."