Christian, Muslim Scholars Fight Against Hotels' In-Room Movie Selections That Include Porn

A letter penned by two notable scholars - a Christian and a Muslim - and sent to a number of different hotel industry executives has asked those hotels to remove pornography from their company's in-room movie selections.

Robert P. George, a professor at Princeton University and the past chairman of the conservative National Organization for Marriage, and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College, a Muslim school, wrote the letter to urge hotels "to do what is right as a matter of conscience."

"We are, respectively, a Christian and a Muslim, but we appeal to you not on the basis of truths revealed in our scriptures but on the basis of a commitment that should be shared by all people of reason and goodwill: a commitment to human dignity and the common good," reads the letter.

The letter marks the joining of two unique men with two distinctly different faiths. Yusuf says they were able to put aside their disagreement on other issues because of  their commitment to this cause.

"We need to see that those things that are threatening our society today are much graver than anything that may divide us," he told CNN.

Reaction to the letter from some adult film stars - and even from some advocates for removing porn from hotels - was negative.

Craig Gross, a pastor and the founder of XXXchurch.com, says the letter is an empty gesture with no power behind it.

"It has got to be one of the dumbest letters I have ever read," Gross said. "It is like asking the Internet to stop selling porn. It sounds good and all, but it isn't going to happen."

But the letter's authors argue that the Internet and hotels are different, with hotel owners directly profiting off the temptation of porn.

"We urge you to do away with pornography in your hotels because it is morally wrong to seek to profit from the suffering, degradation, or corruption of others," states the letter.

"You are placing temptation in their path - temptation for the sake of profit. That is unjust. Moreover, the fact that something is chosen freely does not make it right."

Yusuf continued to use this argument in an interview with CNN. "Just because we are able to do something doesn't mean it is what we should be doing. And just because you can sell these things doesn't mean it is something you should be selling," he said.

In Gross' opinion, this logic is a slippery slope. When planes offer access to WiFi, is that placing temptation in the path of those who may view porn on the Web? When hotels offer room service, he asks, are they tempting dieters?

Gross has a long history of helping those with porn addictions, and his website is dedicated to getting people help.

According to him, removing porn from hotels is a futile endeavor because of the "unfettered availability of porn on the Web."

According to a 2005 report on the state of the adult entertainment by Adult Video News, a trade journal on the adult-film industry, 55% of hotel movie rentals are porn movie rentals.

The average revenue from movie rentals, according to LodgeNet, a company that provides in-room entertainment services, was $16.51 per room per month in 2008.

In the third quarter of 2009, LodgeNet brought in $64.8 million. This, however, included more family-friendly options as well.

A 2011 report by Robert Mandelbaum at Colliers PKF Hospitality Research found that from 2000 to 2009, movie rental revenue for hotels in general decreased 39%.

Even with the reported slip, Gross and other critics acknowledged there is a demand for adult entertainment.

"This is supply and demand," Gross said. "We spin our wheels doing all the wrong things. The issue is not that it is available; the issue is that people buy it."

Prior to this letter, however, some hotels had already pledged to remove pornography from their programming or had removed it.

In 2011, Marriott International - a company founded by a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that continues deep Mormon ties - pledged to phase out adult content from all hotel rooms.

The move came after groups like Focus on the Family met with Marriott officials to urge them to remove adult movies.