Chicago Tribune: Yellow Cab to remove last anti-Islam ads

Yellow Cab Chicago requested Tuesday that a fleet of taxis remove controversial anti-Islam ads. The ads, sponsored by the group Stop Islamization of America, appeared on 25 Chicago cabs this summer. Beside 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" was the message: "Is your family threatening you?" The placards also displayed the Web address LeaveIslamSafely.com.

Michael Levine, CEO of Yellow Cab Chicago, said the signs were offensive to the city's taxi drivers, an estimated half of whom are Muslim.

The ads were carried by independent Yellow Cab affiliates, Levine said in a statement. The fleet owner was paid by a company that specializes in advertising atop taxis.

When Yellow Cab learned of the placards three weeks ago, it called the advertising company and asked to have the ads removed, Levine said. Yellow Cab was told the ads were taken down, but learned Tuesday that three ads were still running atop taxis.

"They will be removed," Levine said. "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."

Although the ads appeared to offer a haven for young women who want to leave Islam, critics contend the signs stoked fear among passengers and passers-by about the way many of the city's taxi drivers worship.

Pamela Geller, a leader of Stop Islamization of America, previously told the Tribune that Muslims are increasingly taking over schools, financial institutions and the workplace. Geller said the ads were directed at "Muslims girls in trouble, living in fear of their lives, struggling to find resources to help."

Geller, who also is one of the leaders against building the Park51 community center and mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations considered legal action regarding the ads but chose not to.

"It's long overdue," said Ahmed Rehab or CAIR-Chicago, of the ads' removal. "These ads are sponsored by a notoriously bigoted anti-Muslim group. It's a classic case of false advertising."

kmack@tribune.com