Controversial ISIS Coloring Book Reaches Vestavia Home
Really Big Coloring Books, which credits itself with starting the adult coloring book craze, has come out with a new and controversial one titled “ISIS: A Culture of Evil.” The company sent thousands unsolicited around the country, and one ended up in a Muslim household in Vestavia Hills.
Henna Budhwani had just gotten home from work and was going through the mail when she found a manilla envelope. “I opened this up and I was horrified. Initially it took a minute to even register what I was looking at because it was a coloring book, but it felt anti-Islamic. It talked about anti-ISIS. It had a parental warning on it,” she says.
The cover shows a beheading, and there’s more graphic violence inside. Budhwani is Muslim, and she panicked. “I felt genuinely targeted,” she says.” I thought that someone had pulled my name from a database and said you’re a Muslim living in Alabama, and we want you out.”
But it turns out that the public-health researcher was on the company’s mailing list because several years ago, she worked on a related activity book that the company published.
Publisher Wayne Bell says there’s no reason for Muslims to take offense: “This is a pro-Islam book. There’s no doubt about it.” He says it’s part of a series including “We Shall Never Forget 9/11” and “The True Faces of Evil Global Terrorism.”
He says a lot of people “enjoy the fact that we’re not afraid to boldly go where a lot of publishers will not go.”
The company has also published titles like “Being Gay is Okay,” and books about dinosaurs and trains. Bell says the ISIS book is meant for adults. It includes a section saying that most Muslims don’t support ISIS. In addition to people like Budhwani, the book has been sent to hundreds of churches, synagogues and mosques.
Judge seeks sworn declaration from Justice Department in deportation case
At issue was whether plane-loads of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang were deported despite the judge's order to turn the planes around.
Pentagon website removes, then restores, page honoring Black Medal of Honor recipient
Charles C. Rogers was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon in 1970. But a profile of the Vietnam War veteran was caught in an "auto removal process," the Defense Department says.
Navy warship is sent to the southern border to carry out Trump’s immigration plans
Capable of holding over 300 crew members and larger than any Coast Guard vessel, the USS Gravely has been assigned to help tighten border security, operating on both domestic and international waters.
Residents pick up the pieces after devastating storms
The three-day outbreak of severe weather across seven states, including Alabama, kicked up a devastating combination of wildfires, dust storms and tornadoes, claiming at least 42 lives since Friday.
What Russia and Ukraine want out of talks, as Trump speaks to Putin Tuesday
President Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the U.S. pursues a ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Trump blames Iran for Houthi attacks on shipping after U.S. strikes in Yemen
Trump blames Iran for Houthi attacks on international shipping