NCIS Underfire: Muslim Group Slams Counterterrorism Training

by: jim kouri | published: 03 27, 2010

One of the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization on Tuesday announced that it complained to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) about alleged anti-Islam bias in the training offered to security personnel by that military law enforcement agency.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) received a report that a three-day NCIS surveillance detection course at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., included the viewing of a film that features terror experts such as Daniel Pipes, Nonie Darwish and Walid Shoebat, whom CAIR characterized as Islamophobic.

CAIR quoted Nonie Darwish as saying, "Islam is cruel, anti-women, anti-religious freedom and anti-personal freedom in general."

Meanwhile, Dr. Daniel Pipes once warned a Jewish convention of the "true dangers" posed by "the presence, and increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American Muslims." (American Jewish Congress, 10/21/2001).

According to CAIR, the film and the course promoted the theme that "Islam is synonymous with Nazism." The briefing presenter also allegedly used the term "Hajji" as a pejorative in reference to Muslims and stated repeatedly that "Islam is not a religion of peace."

In his letter to NCIS Director Mark D. Clookie, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote in part:

"NCIS has an important role to play in securing our nation and can best carry out that role when its actions are based on accurate and balanced information, not on religious or ethnic stereotyping."

Awad requested an investigation "to ensure that our nation's security personnel are receiving training that is free of political or religious agendas."

Daniel Pipes, the Harvard Professor, publisher and head of the Middle East Forum, has consistently pointed out that CAIR is riddled with extremists and has been closely linked to organizations that have been convicted or individuals convicted of terrorism.

The group, that claims to represent US Muslims but is cited by many US Muslims as being a thinly veiled cover group for extremists, is losing membership. Nonetheless, they mount campaigns to get training and other valuable help to US First Responders stopped, canceled, delegitimized and several jurisdictions have folded attempts to hold counter terror training.

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