Islam

The veterans group VoteVets is asking the US Military Academy Chaplain’s Office to disinvite retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin from their upcoming National Prayer Breakfast, Think Progress reports, noting the danger of endorsing Boykin’s extreme views of Muslim Americans. Boykin earned a reprimand from President George W. Bush for making speeches while in uniform that depicted the US military as part of a religious war against Islam, and after leaving the military, has raised bizarre conspiracies about President Obama and called for the government to ban mosques and strip Muslims of their First Amendment rights.

Jon Soltz and Richard Allen Smith, veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively, said that Boykin’s “views are inconsistent with the values of the Army as an institution” and contradict “current Army doctrine” which “instructs Army leaders to respect the Muslim culture as a part of counterinsurgency operations.” Soltz and Smith note that the military makes clear that anti-Muslim “remarks threaten our relationships with Muslims around the world, and thereby, our troops serving in harm's way,” and having Boykin lead this event would not only damage the military but also show disrespect to Muslim American service members who “have fought and died in the uniform of the American Soldier in post-9/11 combat, as well as in previous eras”:

These remarks are incompatible with the Army values, and a person who is incompatible with Army values should not address the cadets of the United States Military Academy. As has been articulated by GEN Petraeus, these remarks threaten our relationships with Muslims around the world, and thereby, our troops serving in harm's way. LTG Boykin's values are inconsistent even with current Army doctrine that is taught at the Joint Readiness Training Center, National Training Center and the Combined Arms Center which instructs Army leaders to respect the Muslim culture as a part of counterinsurgency operations. It is counterproductive for our future Army leaders to hear the views of LTG Boykin, a man who's views are inconsistent with the values of the Army as an institution.

Not to mention, many Muslim Americans have fought and died in the uniform of the American Soldier in post-9/11 combat, as well as in previous eras. To allow LTG Boykin to address the corps of cadets would be disrespectful to the Muslim cadets currently enrolled at West Point. It would be a slap to the face to Muslim Americans who have served their country, not to mention those who gave the fullest sacrifice for their nation and their comrades.

Sir, as Veterans, we have the utmost faith in your leadership. As Veterans of these wars and men who have served in combat alongside Muslim Americans, we respectfully request that you retract LTG Boykin's invite to the USMA Prayer Breakfast. The presence of LTG Boykin at West Point would violate Army Values, as well as potentially be used as propaganda by the enemy and endanger our troops in combat.

With Jerry Boykin set to keynote the Mayor’s Prayer breakfast in Ocean City, Maryland on Thursday, pressure is increasing on city officials to drop the controversial speaker. Boykin routinely spouts extremist views, including calling for the U.S. to ban mosques and strip Muslims of their First Amendment rights. People For the American Way sent a letter to members of the city council and mayor Rick Meehan asking them to rescind Boykin’s invitation, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Auburn Theological Seminary, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Standing on the Side of Love campaign and Faith in Public Life have also raised questions about Boykin’s appearance.

The mayor has so far stood by Boykin, absurdly claiming that “Boykin has not said anything controversial in his recent public appearances.” Boykin, however, recently maintained that the Council of Foreign Relations and George Soros are creating a global Marxist government. He has also claimed that President Obama is using the health care reform law to build a Marxist dictatorship with a personal “Brownshirt” army. Boykin himself bragged, “I am intolerant,” and demanded Christians “go on the offensive” against Islam.

ABC Baltimore covered the controversy surrounding Boykin last night, including Boykin’s record of religious bigotry:

The Baltimore Sun also looked into Boykin’s appearance, noting that he was reprimanded during the Bush administration for making speeches in uniform in which he claimed that the U.S. military is involved in a religious war against Islam:

Michael Keegan, president of People for the American Way, said his group wants the mayor to refuse to attend to the event, or to force the organizer to revoke Boykin's invitation. More than 700 people have emailed Meehan and town officials since Monday through a tool on its website to protest the gathering, according to the group, which says its mission is to advocate for equality, free speech and freedom of religion.

"Ocean City works hard to maintain its reputation as a family-friendly destination open to all-comers," Keegan said in a statement. "An official endorsement of Jerry Boykin would send the wrong message about what the city stands for."

Boykin did not respond to requests for an interview. He travels the country for speaking engagements and was near Charleston, S.C., earlier this month to introduce GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown.

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Boykin was rebuked by President George W. Bush in 2003 after Boykin publicly described a U.S. Army battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia in 1993, saying: "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol." He also gave unauthorized speeches at evangelical church functions while serving as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war-fighting. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations has said Boykin has a "long, shameful history of extreme and bigoted views."

Meehan did not respond to a request for an interview. Spokeswoman Abbott said the mayor was tied up in budget meetings Tuesday.

Meehan is hopeful that Boykin's remarks will be respectful, Abbott said.

"We have been assured that remarks made will not be divisive or inflammatory remarks," she said. "He wants to allow the speaker to have his say, and we have been given no indication that the topic will be anything but inspirational."

The breakfast's organizer, Bruce Spangler, did not return a call for comment. Spangler, however, told The Dispatch newspaper in Ocean City earlier this month that he was excited about Boykin's appearance, calling Boykin an expert on Islamic history and saying his "testimony" would be too exciting to miss.

"This country was founded on biblical values, and we are getting away from that," Spangler told The Dispatch.

The tea party group Constituting Michigan is bringing a hoaxer who claims to be a former terrorist to Allegan High School in Allegan, Michigan, to warn guests of the danger of creeping sharia law. The speaker, Kamal Saleem, was in Michigan late last year for The Call: Detroit, where he denounced Islam as demonic, and continues to work with the Oak Initiative and its state chapter Transformation Michigan. But Saleem isn’t your usual anti-Muslim speaker, as he claims to have been an Islamic terrorist until he converted to Christianity and found work at Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family.

However, Focus on the Family has since distanced itself from Saleem, whose real name is Khodor Shami, and Calvin College professor Doug Howard writes that not only was Saleem misrepresenting Islam with blatant “absurdities” but was also misrepresenting his own background in his book The Blood of Lambs, which Howard called “obsessively, sadistically violent.” “Suffice it to say that if the subject were Jews, this book could not have been published.” CNN also looked into Saleem’s background and found no evidence backing up his claims of having been a terrorist, and Haroon Moghul of Religion Dispatches wonders how anyone who once claimed to be a devout Muslim could claim, like Saleem, to have been “allergic to Jesus” since Muslims consider Jesus the Messiah.

Dawud Walid of CAIR-Michigan pointed out that Saleem is a “complete fraud,” but event organizers say any criticism of Saleem is simply “the result of media bias”:

Allegan County political organization Constituting Michigan-Founding Principles will host a self-proclaimed former terrorist on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Allegan High School Events Center.

Kamal Saleem claims to have been a former Islamic radical and terrorist before converting to Christianity. He has since published a book detailing his experiences and makes regular tours speaking about his life and views.

”He had entered the U.S. and gotten in an accident, and received medical care,” said Carol Dannenberg, of Constituting Michigan-Founding Principles. “He thought, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to hurt these people.’ He was raised to believe that there was no hope, that killing was a good thing.”

”I met Saleem in my travels to Lansing,” said Bill Sage, one of the co-founders of Constituting Michigan. “He’s here to talk about keeping American law in American courts, to make sure that the Constitution is what we’re drawing from.”

Sage characterizes the organization’s main focus as education reform and a return to focusing on the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in schools. Sage will also be speaking at the event, as will state Rep. Dave Agema, according to organizers. Agema is one of the sponsors of House Bill 4769, which seeks “to restrict the application of foreign laws” in Michigan. Opponents have characterized the bill as discriminatory towards Islam.

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”He’s profiting off the cottage industry of Islamophobia,” Walid said. “If he thinks that I’m lying, that I’m trying to falsely discredit him, he should sue me for defamation.”

Sage claims much of the controversy surrounding Saleem is the result of media bias.

”People don’t like his message, they don’t want him out there,” said Sage. “But if you listen to Kamal, you’ll understand.”

Next month, the 22nd annual Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Ocean City, MD.

The keynote speaker will be none other than Jerry Boykin:

The commander of the infamous Black Hawk Down has been announced as this year’s Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast speaker.

Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Director Bruce Spangler expressed excitement this week about Lieutenant General William G. “Jerry” Boykin of the US Army, retired coming to Ocean City next month.

“Talking to people that know this guy, they say he’s a soldiers-soldier … he isn’t somebody that lives from behind but is upfront leading,” Spangler said.

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Following many other combat operations, in 1993 LTG Boykin clashed with Muslim warlord Osman Atto in Somalia, which was chronicled in the movie “Black Hawk Down”. He has been wounded twice while being involved in every conflict since Vietnam. The majority of his time was spent in the Middle East.

“He is an expert on Islamic history,” Spangler said.

In reality, Boykin is an anti-Islam activist who believes that Muslims do not deserve First Amendment protections and should not be allowed to build mosques in America. He also says that not only can there be no interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims, but that Christians must go on the offensive against Islam.

He also believes that George Soros and the Council on Foreign Relations intentionally collapsed the US economy in order to help elect President Obama, who is now using health care reform legislation to create an army of Brownshirt soldiers loyal only to him: