Top Ten (Plus One) Islamophobes

David Yerushalmi

Yerushalmi, a Hasidic Jewish lawyer, is the orchestrator of the national anti-Sharia (Islamic law) movement, propagating Sharia as one of the greatest threats to American freedom since the Cold War.

Yerushalmi has composed privately-financed reports allegedly funded by Jihad Watch blogger Frank Gaffney, among other Islamophobes. He has filed lawsuits against the government and drafted model legislation that was recently used in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Louisiana in attempts to ban Islamic law. Anti-Sharia organizers are going forward with plans to introduce versions of Yerushalmi's legislation in half a dozen new states, while reviving measures that were tabled in others.

While Yerushalmi's opponents, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, are attempting to dissuade the public, the message has nevertheless caught on: former CIA director R. James Woolsey and Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann last month signed a pledge to reject Islamic law, likening it to totalitarian control.

According to the New York Times, despite his lack of formal training in Islamic law, Yerushalmi has developed a striking influence over American public discourse regarding Sharia.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31shariah.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/david_yerushalmi_and_insane

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/08/09/in-defense-of-david-yerushalmi/