UPDATE November 5, 2019: We learned today that Kandiyohi County Commissioner Steve Ahmann has removed his name from the Say No to Interfaith Dialogue declaration.
Fortunately, we saved a screenshot of his signature on the page:
[End update].
We recently learned a reader that the Thee Book Club in the Willmar area is hosting a Straight Way of Grace Ministry Event featuring anti-Muslim preacher Usama Dakdok.
Readers may remember learning about Dakdok in our earlier posts, beginning in 2014:
- Three-day Bagley Islamophobe event turns nasty as crowd harasses Muslim woman at high school
- Anti-Islam speaker Usama Dakdok will appear at April Bloomington & Duluth Worldview Weekends
- Islamophobic pastor Usama Dakdok to speak in Morrison, Todd, Stearns and Itasca Counties in late May
- Aftermath of Usama Dakdok anti-Islam snake-oil show rips independent Brainerd church asunder
- With time on his hands in Minnesota, anti-Muslim speaker Usama Dakdok bothers some Christians
There's more, but that should jog memories.
It's not surprising that Thee Book Club is hosting Dakdok. As we reported in Newest Minnesota anti-Muslim speaking circuit venue . . . ,the self-described Christian patriots ground their group in this sort of schtick:
Via Willmar City Council Member Ron Christianson's Facebook page, we learn of a new venue for Minnesota's anti-Muslim speaking circuit: the Let Freedom Ring forum, which will host anti-Muslim speaker Chris Gaubatz on October 2 at a location to be announced.
The event is the second offering by the group, which brought Phil Haney to The Harbor church in Spicer on September 11. Read about Haney's beliefs at Right Wing Watch. Willmar Radio' spoke to Haney here. Let Freedom Ring events are hosted by the THEE Book Club (more about this group later).
Judging from the Let Freedom Ring event post announcing the October event, Gaubatz spoke to the THEE Book Club in a non-public event earlier this year:
With this newly added event, we will continue to review our ever-changing society, both nationally and locally. We strive to educate the public on these changes; where we fit in and how we respond. All the while, staying the course and reflecting on our chosen Bible verse Ephesians 6:12-14; standing on His firm foundation! . . .
What is the THEE Book Club?
The forum is sponsored by the THEE Book Club. The latter bills itself on Facebook as:
. . .a small group of Christian patriots; small in numbers but strong in effort because we are obedient to the Lord’s Word, Will and Ways. We are not ones who believe in oneness because one does not make an army. We are minutemen who believe in many! We are a group that is Biblically foundational; we are driven by our love of God and love of our country! We pray on Ephesians 6:12-14 to give us strength and courage to journey into territories that may have struggle, strife and uncertainty at times but we know that no matter the path that lies ahead, our true victor has already WON!
We believe in facts and truth, not hearsay, rumors and lies. We live by our Bible but secondly we live by the law of our land, our US Constitution. The very constitution initiated and written by founding father of this great country of ours. Men also guided by love of their God and love for their newly formed country. Men who sought life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness free from the dominance of monarchy and government restraints.
THEE Book Club and its events appear to be organized--at least in part--by Heidi Jo Fagerlie-Ahmann, wife of Kandiyohi County Commissioner and former Willmar City Council Member Steve Ahmann.
The public nature of the events appears to be fueled by the extreme conservative star-power of its speakers. Fagerlie-Ahmann posted about the announcement of group's first speaker, Phil Haney:
It was to be more private but when we found out we were to be blessed by Phil's presence, we made it more public and shareable.
The group does not allow its meetings to be recorded by attendees.
The THEE Book Club Facebook page was created on August 28, 2018.
Another sort of club: one leadership faction in Willmar
Rick Fagerlie, the brother of THEE Book Club organizer Fagerlie-Ahmann, is on the Willmar City Council and was part of what the West Central Tribune in 2016 called the "Ron Christianson-Steve Ahmann-Tim Johnson-Rick Fagerlie faction." According to the paper, this faction punished anyone whom it perceived as opponents; one example cited was state representative Dave Baker, R-Willmar, who was not re-appointed as president of the Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission because of his involvement in an effort called Moving Willmar Forward.
Steve Ahmann signs anti-interfaith declaration
A reader concerned about THEE Book Club's latest meeting being held at a public school hipped us a declaration against interfaith dialogue, created TIL anti-Islam speaker Shahram Hadian. As we reported in Like Branson for Islamophobes: Shahram Hadian brings shows back to central Minnesota, the book club hosted Hadian from November 27 through November 30, 2018.
Over 400 people have signed the anti-dialogue declaration, according to the initial list of signatories. Among the very short category of Elected officials/Law Enforcement (upper righthand corner), Kandiyohi County Commissioner Steve Ahmann's name appears. Given Ahmann's wife's central role in Thee Book Club, his signature isn't terribly surprising, however questionable the signing may be.
Ahmann is the only Minnesota elected official to sign on to this, joining luminaries from Idaho (uffda and more uffda) and Kansas. The commissioner
Here's the declaration itself:
Declaration Against Interfaith Dialogue posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
That's one heckova document for Ahmann's constituents to check out. According to a map of the county's districts, Ahmann's 2nd district falls entirely within the city limits of Willmar, a city which is home to a thriving Somali-American community. Perhaps it takes all types to love your neighbor.
Photo: Kandiyohi County Commissioner Steve Ahmann. City of Willmar webpage.
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