PCG's Stephen Flurry Obliquely Quoted in Book About Islamophobia: PCG's Small Impact Upon Society Exposed

It has been seen in previous posts that PCG's writers have often indulged in saying mean spirited and nasty things about Muslims and constantly portray them in a terrible light. Here are a few examples.

• They constantly demonize Iran whether the facts support such condemnation or not in a bizarre attempt to "prove" their leader, Gerald Flurry, is a prophet. They have done this since 1994.

• In 2001, shortly after 9/11, the late Ron Fraser spoke of Americans as "selling themselves the lie that most Muslims are peaceful folks." That is a ridiculous and deluded statement regarding the Muslim community within America. It is a disgusting and shameful thing for Ron Fraser to say.

• In 2008 the late Ron Fraser demonized Bosnia as being founded as a "terrorist entity" for the advance of "Pan-Islam" into Europe. (What on Earth is he talking about?) In fact it was Bosnians who were the main victims of the horrors unleashed during the Yugoslav Wars and suffered the most in those terrible times.

• In 2011, shortly after the anniversary of 9/11, Joel Hilliker indulged in some woefully irresponsible rhetoric implying that Iran deserved to be invaded, seemingly heedless of the terrible suffering such an act would inflict upon all concerned. 

• In 2014 Gerald Flurry also indulged in shamefully demonizing Muslims in his latest book, The Former Prophets: How to Become a King. It appears that Joel Hilliker helped in the writing of that book.

• More on what PCG's writers say about Muslims may seen in previous posts about The Trumpet Weekly (2007-8, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013).

So those are some of the terrible and irresponsible things PCG's writers have said about Muslims. But how many people pay attention to this? Have PCG been effective in promoting this aspect of their "warning" message to the public?

One piece of evidence towards answering that question may be seen in the 2011 book by Associate Professor Stephen Sheehi entitled Islamophobia: The Ideological Campaign Against Muslims. It is a staunchly strident polemic arguing that large sections of American politics, including the Obama Administration, are strongly infused with prejudice towards Muslims.

(I have not read this book properly so I will refrain from commenting about the book itself in this post. It is not the purpose of this post to discuss the book itself.)

There is one thing about it that will be of interest to those currently or formerly associated with the COGs. It quotes a 2008 article by PCG's Stephen Flurry. Here is the relevant quote from Chapter 6 which is entitled "Islamophobia in the Age of Obama".

Here Professor Sheehi discusses negative perceptions regarding then candidate Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Among these negative perceptions cited by Professor Sheehi was the following opinion criticizing how then Senator Obama viewed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Obama's road for Middle East peace was interpreted by Zionist Americans, such as Michael Orens--who was later appointed as Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations--as "the road to Baghdad and Tehran [that] runs through Bethlehem and Nablus." (Sheehi.)

Here is the footnote regarding that quote.

Stephen Flurry, "Is Obama the Change Israel Can Believe In?" The Trumpet, July 25, 2008; found at http://www.thetrumpet.com/print.php?q=5352.3648.0.0. (Sheehi.)

Here the section of Stephen Flurry's article alluded to by Professor Sheehi.

Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center and author of Power, Faith and Fantasy, has conducted an exhaustive review of the many public statements and positions of both presidential candidates [Obama and McCain] over the past year and a half. At a press briefing in Jerusalem this past week [in July 2008], Oren said there were “deep and profound differences” between the positions of both senators.

John McCain, for example, told the Atlantic in May “that if the Israeli-Palestinian issue were decided tomorrow, we would still face the enormous threat of radical Islamic extremism.” Obama, on the other hand, referred to the Israeli-Palestinian divide as a “constant sore” that infects America’s foreign policy and gives jihadists an “excuse” for their anti-Americanism.

With Obama, Oren said on Monday, “the road to Baghdad and Tehran runs through Bethlehem and Nablus.” (Stephen Flurry.)

And that is it. Professor Sheehi never even bothers to talk about PCG in his book all about Islamophobia because PCG are not important.

The fact that Professor Sheehi makes no mention of PCG even when writing a book all about Islamophobia simply proves how -- despite the $19.5 million in annual income PCG gets (2012) and the many bigoted and grotesque things PCG's writers have said about Muslims -- PCG is quite marginal and practically unnoticed outside those who happen to be affected by them.

I am not criticizing this book for not discussing PCG, rather, Professor Sheehi's lack of attention to PCG simply proves yet again how marginal and unimportant PCG is despite all their wealth. 

Clearly PCG have been ineffective in promoting this aspect of their "warning" message to the public. PCG's shameful "warning message" against Muslims clearly is not getting much attention outside PCG's circle of members and sympathetic readers.

Where is that money of theirs going? Why have they been so ineffective at getting noticed despite the $19.5 million in annual income PCG got 2012?