A national campaign intended to educate the general public about Islam through a series of advertisements on buses, subways and billboards is tainted by the fact that a Web site related to the campaign links to sites that contain anti-Semitic materials.

The campaign, organized and funded by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) under the banner "WhyIslam," includes advertising featured on 50 municipal buses in the Washington, D.C. area.  The advertisements, which began in June 2009 and are scheduled to run through the end of July, direct the public to the "WhyIslam" campaign Web site to learn more about Islam.

On the site, "WhyIslam" describes itself as an effort to educate the public, to clarify misconceptions about Islam and calls for interfaith dialogue.  But under "resources on Islam," the "WhyIslam" provides links to external sites that promote anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.

A similar campaign, "Calling Islam," was organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in South Florida in November 2008. CAIR purchased 50 advertisements on buses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The Web site associated with the CAIR advertisements, which ran through January 2009, also directs visitors to anti-Semitic materials on its own site, as well as links to external sites that promote conspiratorial anti-Semitism.