Amazon.Com racism denounced May 18, 2005

MPAC & Muslim Customer Call for Condemnation by National Online Bookseller

(Los Angeles, 5/17/05) – An American Muslim woman who ordered a copy of the Quran from Amazon.com received one with the words "F*ck this piece of sh*t" and "Death to all Muslims" scrawled across the inside cover. Customer Azza Basarudin and the Muslim Public Affairs Council will demand that Amazon issue a formal condemnation and take corrective action at a press conference on Wednesday, May 18 at 11:00 a.m. at the Islamic Center of Southern California.

"The cult of hatred against Islam and Muslims is manifesting in different sectors of our society," said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. "The sooner we address these problems, the better we can serve America's national and international interests."

After placing an order with Amazon.com earlier this month, customer Azza Basarudin received the Quran she ordered from Bellwether Books, a subcontractor of the national online bookseller. Basarudin contacted MPAC when she discovered the desecration and profanity inside. Last week, MPAC contacted Amazon CEO Jeff Bazos' office to demand an investigation and called for the company to issue a public condemnation, establish a policy of zero tolerance toward this type of behavior, and support MPAC's hate crime prevention programs. Amazon.com apologized for "distress caused by incident" but has taken no corrective action. MPAC has invited Amazon.com to participate in the press conference and share their position on this case. MPAC, which is representing the customer, will call for Amazon to take swift and decisive action against those responsible for the desecration.

The Amazon.com Quran desecration case comes in the wake of national attention on the alleged desecration of the Quran by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay.

WHAT: Press Conference Demanding Amazon.com Take Action in Response to Delivery of Desecrated Quran to Muslim Customer WHO: Azza Basarudin, Amazon.com customer who received desecrated QuranSalam Al-Marayati, MPAC Executive DirectorAmazon.com representative (invited) WHEN: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 at 11:00 A.M. WHERE:Islamic Center of Southern California434 South Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020 [CONTACT: Edina Lekovic, 213-383-3443, communications@mpac.org]