Tom Trento, Florida Security Council/United West Organization

by Sheila Musaji

Tom Trento is a spokesperson and media contact for the United American Committee (UAC) which has posted anti-Sharia billboards on highways.  He is the Director of the Florida Security Council (FSC), and one of the heads of Watch Obsession, and of the new United West organization.

Trento is not one of the big time players in the Islamophobia Industry, but he is trying hard to be noticed.  There are few anti-Muslim efforts that he is not involved with in one way or another.

Trento attended an anti-Muslim conference in France and was quoted as saying that “All the speakers focused on the ‘dangers’ of Islam. An American militant, Tom Trento, declared—according to the French translation of his speech projected on screen, that

.”

The Clarion Fund and Trento’s Florida Security Council opposed the Egyptian Pro-Democracy Movement Eli Clifton

Frank Gaffney appeared at a gathering in Sioux Falls, South Dakota along with state Sen. Dan Lederman (R-South Dakota), and Tom Trento to show the film Iranium and discuss the dangers of Sharia. **  An article in The Iconoclast of The New English Review was very positive about Gaffney, but nevertheless revealed some interesting information.  An “intrepid band of activists from the

spearheaded by Tom Trento of the Florida Security Council.  We talked with Trento on a Skype call in Sioux Falls as he, Lisa Marie Johnson, Joel Arends, South Dakota State Senator Dan Lederman, of the Great Plains Chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition and founder of the Jewish Christian Coalition of the Midwest and Frank Gaffney of CSP were finalizing security arrangements for tonight’s showing of the film Iranium produced by the Clarion Fund.

Nihad Awad has reported about a Washington, D.C. conference

But not to worry - one of the speakers at the Washington, D.C., conference does advocate outlawing Islam in America. That speaker, David Yerushalmi, works for one of the other speakers at the conference, Frank Gaffney Jr.

Other panelists included anti-Islam hate blogger Pam Geller, who has appeared at Muslim-bashing events with Gaffney and with another conference speaker, Florida House of Representatives Majority Leader Adam Hasner. Hasner recently hosted an appearance by extremist anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert “ban the Quran” Wilders in Florida, which was co-hosted by the hate blogger and promoted by another conference panelist, Tom Trento of the Florida Security Council.

In an article Welcome to the Shariah Conspiracy Industry, Sarah Posner notes that CUFI has helped distribute Clarion Fund films, which include many of the central players in the shari’ah scare industry as “experts,” demonstrating how the symbiotic relationship between these mostly nonprofit organizations has helped fuel a climate of anti-Muslim hysteria. Tom Trento, a conservative Christian activist who founded the Florida Security Council, helped distribute Obsession in 2008. He likened the effort to “multi-level marketing.”

Regarding the recent hate speech incident in Orange County, Trento said:  “You’re seeing the clash of two world-views,” said Tom Trento, Director of The United West, an organization Trento says is aimed at directing Americans’ attention toward the Islamic system. “A 7th century Sharia compliant mindset versus Jeffersonian Democracy and the right of free speech.” He added, “It’s beautiful I think.”  

According to Jews on First

Tom Trento, who heads WatchObsession, one of the two organizations distributing the video Obsession, rejected a comparison of radical Muslim terrorists and radical fundamentalist Christians who bomb clinics that provide abortions.

Trento, who described himself as an evangelical Christian with degrees in law enforcement, theology, and philosophy, was responding during a telephone interview with JewsOnFirst.org to a question about criticism of Obsession as defamatory of Muslims. We asked the question because Trento said that he had personally screened the video on campuses last year and acknowledged that a major criticism of it was that it condemned Muslims.

Critics would ask him, he said, “Why don’t we focus on Christian and Jewish terrorists?”

“Okay,” said Trento, “let’s take a look at that, meaning evangelical Christians blowing up abortion clinics.”

Because clinic bombers do not want to take over the country, as Muslim terrorists do, he continued, “that is an absolutely absurd analogy. A red herring.”

Trento also dismissed the Jewish terrorist comparison. “What that means is ‘why aren’t you speaking out for the Palestinians, Hamas and Hezbollah?’ he said.”

Trento was one of the contributors to Frank Gaffney’s discredited report “Shariah: The Threat To America: An Exercise In Competitive Analysis (Report of Team B II)”  ***

He involved himself in the Fathima Rifqa Bary case ***  and ***

He was part of the attack on Suhail Khan and his Florida Security Council fundraised off what Trento called the ‘Infiltrated’ conservative movement Ryan J. Reilly

He was opposed to a recent Muslim Capital Day in Florida ** and his Florida Security Council led a protest against this day.  The Muslim Capital Day site includes this description of the events planned

The day will be filled with opportunities for learning:  -  You will learn how legislation is enacted and how it impacts your life on an every day basis.  -  You will see first hand how state politics works through tours, panel discussions and lectures.  -  You will have the unique opportunity speak to your elected officials face to face, express your concerns and listen to their positions on issues important to you and your family.

  Sounds like they were encouraging American Muslims to be good citizens.

In an interview, his answer to the question “What are some of the major events the FSC has organized?” lists a veritable Who’s who of Islamophobes and Islamophobic causes:  The FSC has educated hundreds of thousands through its video distributions of films such as Obsession, Third Jihad, and Homegrown Jihad; lectures and briefings featuring national security and counter-terrorism experts such as Frank Gaffney, Patrick Poole, Stephen Coughlin and John Guandolo; as well as seminars, press conferences, rallies and protests. In 2009 we were privileged to host the Hon. Geert Wilders at a Free Speech Summit in Boca Raton, which was so successful we were asked to help organize a similar program with the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC) in Philadelphia. As we are concerned with free speech and Lawfare issues, we have participated in major legal conferences and helped organize a fundraiser featuring Steve Emerson for Joe Kaufman, who was under legal attack for investigative articles he has written for FrontpageMagazine.com. We are also fighting a legal battle of our own against Ocean Properties, LTD. (OPL) for the unlawful cancellation of our Free Speech Summit by the Delray Beach Marriott.  Since August of 2009, we have been advocating for Rifqa Bary, a Christian convert from Islam, who is under threat as a potential honor-killing victim.

Both Brigitte Gabriel’s Act! For America and Trento’s Florida Security Council were active participants in the Parvez Ahmed City Council incident.  ***

According to Max Blumenthal, Pamela Geller and Trento seem to have had a falling out **