According to the police, Professor Gates greeted the cops with a “belligerent” attitude, refusing to show them identification when asked, and refusing to step outside when asked. He was angry, rude and offensive. He eventually showed them his Harvard ID and eventually stepped outside where he was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to the Cambridge police station. Professor Gates contends that while he was testy, he did show them two pieces of ID when asked: his Harvard ID and his driver’s license. He claims that the cops had it in for him, that he was a victim of racial profiling.

Ahmed Rehab, clarifies that Hizb ut Tahrir is a marginal organization not representative of the mainstream Muslim community and explains that the vast majority of Muslims value capitalism, citizenship, and civic engagement.

It is no secret that Islam and Muslims remain largely misunderstood in the West, including the United States. This is baffling considering that one study after another reveals that American Muslims are largely integrated on a number of levels in American life. There remain two virgin areas that are crucial to our full integration and in which we are still largely viewed as foreign objects.

Spencer postures himself as an “Islamic Scholar.” But unlike most people we tend to call “scholars,” Spencer did not burden himself with the traditional scholarly route that puts an emphasis on objectivity and academic rigor. It never ceases to amaze me how the likes of Robert Spencer and Michael Savage who gleefully spout off anti-Muslim propaganda touting the freedom of speech card, suddenly feel threatened and victimized when Muslims use their own freedom of speech to respond. Spencer has a right to speak, Savage has a right to speak, and so does CAIR.