Did you know that tomorrow is “Death to America Day” on the official Islamic Republic of Iran calendar?

Some local Iranian officials planned to celebrate the day at a Marriott hotel in Bethesda, Md. But when Iranian critics of Islamofascism got wind of the event, they launched a letter-writing and blog campaign to protest Marriott’s hosting of the America-haters.

Blogger Gary Metz reports that thanks to their activism, Marriott has dropped the event. According to the Washington Post:

A celebration scheduled for this weekend at Montgomery County’s new hotel and conference center, marking the 26th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, was canceled after the hotel’s operator learned that it would violate federal law.

The Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, which opened in December, was to play host to 1,000 guests at a reception thrown by Ali Jazini, director of the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

John Wolf, a Marriott spokesman, said yesterday that the hotel canceled the event after realizing it is illegal to do business with Iran. He said Marriott officials will “be taking steps” to prevent similar bookings in the future.

Announcement of the event raised an outcry from Iranian opponents of the country’s regime who live in the United States. They organized a campaign calling on Marriott to cancel.

“For them to come celebrate the anniversary of their glorious revolution in the United States is just wrong,” said Iman Foroutan, director of the Iran of Tomorrow Movement, an American-based organization working to oust Iran’s fundamentalist regime. “If they allowed this, I would not be surprised if al Qaeda celebrated their next anniversary in the heart of New York.”

In a letter sent this week to Marriott officials and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Foroutan cited an order from then-President Bill Clinton designating Iran as “an extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy” of the United States. The letter went on to say that it is illegal for Iran to do business within the borders of the United States.

Foroutan, whose Los Angeles-based group operates a satellite television station, said Iranian dissidents were planning to picket outside the conference center.

Kudos to the watchdog groups for reminding Marriott to put American law and the national interest above their hotel profits.

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