Ku Klux Klan members in Alabama cities are recruiting new members to “fight the spread of Islam in our country,” according to several reports.
The fliers have an Uncle Sam-type character decked in the traditional KKK white hood, boldly telling readers “The KKK Wants You! HELP US FIGHT THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN OUR COUNTRY. TO JOIN CALL THE HOTLINE OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE.”
After the white supremacist group handed out fliers in the Cullman and Decatur neighborhoods, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on Alabama state leaders to denounce the hate group, according to Alabama Today.
“Our state’s leaders must speak out against the rising anti-Muslim bigotry nationwide that is apparently inspiring a new recruiting effort by racists,” said CAIR-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed. “The KKK must be repudiated, whether it targets African-Americans, Muslims or any other minority group with hatred and intimidation.”
The fliers were reportedly handed out after the San Bernardino terrorist attacks as American fear grows by the day, according to several polls.
“According to ‘Fear, Inc.,’ a report by the Center for American Progress, a network of misinformation experts actively promotes Islamophobia in America. The promotion of Islamophobia creates both prejudice and discrimination among the general population,” reads the results of a Gallup poll.
“In the U.S., about one-half of nationally representative samples of Mormons, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, and Jews agree that in general, most Americans are prejudiced toward Muslim Americans,” the study continues.
And the KKK is capitalizing this, counting on hate to fuel its recruiting practices.
The hate group rose to prominence first in the 1870s, then later in the early 20th century, according to The History Channel. The Klan brutally pursued a racist society in the 1960s by burning crosses, bombing black schools and churches, and horrificly beating and murdering members of the black community.
The KKK actively denounced immigrants, Catholics, Jews and organized labor. They aimed to achieve white supremacy through democratic victories, according to the History Channel.
Now they are emerging once more, this time with Muslims as their target.
