Earlier this summer, the leader of the group "Stop the Islamization of America" took out ads on 25 Chicago taxi cabs--and as of Tuesday, all of them will be removed.
Pamela Geller, who has been dubbed the "Queen of Muslim Bashers" and leads the "Stop the Islamization of America" movement, claimed the ads were directed toward Muslim women wanting to leave Islam--but ended up offending both cab drivers and passengers.
Today, Yellow Cab CEO Michael Levine issued a statement announcing the removal of the ads:
"Recently, the head of the group 'Stop the Islamization of America' took out ads on Chicago-area taxis. The ads in question were carried by independent affiliates of Yellow Cab Affiliation. The fleet owner was contracted and paid by an independent advertising company specializing in taxi top advertising."
"When Yellow Cab became aware of the ads three weeks ago, we immediately called the advertising company and asked to have the ads removed. We were told that they were taken down, but we found out today that three such ads were still running. They will be removed today. Yellow Cab does not regularly approve advertising content carried by our affiliates, but we do reserve the right to ask them to remove ads that offend either the drivers or the public."
The ads, which denounced honor killings, showed pictures of young women who were allegedly killed by their Muslim fathers for "refusing an Islamic marriage, dating a non-Muslim or becoming 'too Americanized,'" according to the Chicago Tribune. Below the photo, the ad reads "Is your family threatening you?" and is followed up with "LeaveIslamSafely.com."
Those against the ads say they paint an ugly and misleading picture of Islam.
"People like Pam Geller have a horrendous record," John Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University told the Tribune. "It's a track record of not distinguishing between forms of religious terrorism and Islam itself."
Geller is also one of the leading voices against the building of an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City.