“They may be legal but they’re not moral” – ICNY Executive Director comments on subway ads in New York Daily News

Hundreds of potentially inflammatory advertisements linking Islam to terrorism have gone up in the subway — the biggest series of its kind to date.

The ads depict an image of the Twin Towers in flames with a quote, attributed to the Koran, “Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.”

The pro-Israel American Freedom Defense Initiative paid $77,000 for the message to be placed on 240 clocks throughout the subway system.

The MTA last year rejected a similarly provocative advertisement from the group, citing an authority guideline against content demeaning to any particular religious or cultural group.

The ads read, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”

But the MTA backed down after a federal court ruled the guidelines violated the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech.

That ad campaign featured billboards in just 10 stations. Many of them were vandalized, authorities previously said. The Defense Initiative’s tactics have been criticized by Islamic and nondenominational organizations, including the Interfaith Center of New York.

“They may be legal but they’re not moral,” said the Rev. Chloe Breyer of the Interfaith Center. “Demonizing the religions of others does not show New Yorkers at our best.”