Extreme Anti-Islam Ads Are Now Running On San Francisco's Buses

Olga Timofeyeva

Anti-Islam ads appeared on 10 public buses in San Francisco on Monday, showing "inflammatory quotes by Islamic fundamentalists" accompanied by "an anonymous terrorist," according to Transportation Nation.

The ads are paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, whose executive director, Pamela Geller, told the New York Observer in December, "I refuse to abridge my free speech so as to appease savages."

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (better known as Muni) says it cannot reject the ads, based on a September court ruling that decided New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority could not do so.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative has bought space on San Francisco buses before, to display ads that read "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

In response, Transportation Nation reported, Muni bought space on its own buses, to run ads in protest: "SFMTA policy prohibits discrimination based on national origin, religion, and other characteristics and condemns statements that describe any group as "savages."

Geller's group has also run similar ads in Washington, D.C.'s subway system.

Here's a photo of one of the ads, sent in by reader Olga Timofeyeva:

And one of Muni's disclaimer ad:

Olga Timofeyeva