Shariah may have its own panel at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference.
According to the web-based magazine Slate, an internal debate is occurring among CPAC organizers about whether to facilitate a discussion on Islamic law during the upcoming conference. The panel would be part of new program being implemented this year called “CPAC University.” The point of program is to host information sessions based on what registered attendees want to hear. A leaked document obtained by Slate revealed that Shariah was on the list of potential topics.
“There is disagreement about whether this is a good idea,” Slate notes.
In recent years, anti-Muslim strategists have worked with conservative lawmakers to pass anti-Shariah legislation in nine states.
In recent years, CPAC has disinvited numerous fringe characters from participating in the conference.
This has included anti-Muslim activists Frank Gaffney, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, who were barred after verbally attacking fellow conservatives and asserting that CPAC leadership has been infiltrated by Muslim extremists. Among those this group has attacked were Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform who sponsors CPAC, and Suhail Khan, who sits on the conference’s board. Gaffney and his ilk continue to uphold claims that both Norquist and Khan are secret Muslim Brotherhood operatives.
This, however, has not deterred these individuals from hosting off-site events during the conference. For the past two years, Gaffney has teamed up with Breitbart News to host what they deem the “Uninvited” panel (see here and here). Still located in the general vicinity of CPAC, the panel has provided a platform to those either disinvited or regarded as too controversial to speak at the official conference.
“I want to thank CPAC for making this panel necessary,” former Bush-era Attorney General Michael Mukasey quipped during the 2013 panel. “And thank Breitbart.com for making this panel possible.”