Media Coverage 

Wash. State Muslims Ask for Probe of FBI Bias (CAIR)

On Monday, October 3, the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) joinED a coalition of community groups at a news conference in Seattle to express concerns about persistent reports that FBI agents are trained to view mainstream American Muslims with suspicion and to view the faith of Islam itself as the source of terrorism and extremism.

FBI Asked Agents to Read Anti-Islam Books (CAIR)

Through the Freedom of Information Act, The American Civil Liberties Union has obtained teaching materials used by the FBI to instruct new recruits about Islam. Included in a 62 page slideshow is the FBI's recommended reading list which introduces the" Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam," "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam." The author, Robert Spencer, runs the jihadwatch.com blog. Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller are co-founders of the Stop the Islamization of America campaign which was cited 64 times in the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, (Anders Berring Breiveek) who carried out the recent massacre in Norway. Breivik's writings present him as a right-wing nationalist fueled by a combined hatred of Muslims, Marxists and multiculturalists. The Oslo perpetrator, in his manifesto quoted extensively from the writings of European and American bloggers - including Spencer and Geller. The FBI says Spencer's book is no longer being recommended to new recruits, But CAIR wonders what impact that will really have, considering the group says, Robert Spencer is still a trainer at the FBI. The FBI says it is now encouraging agents to seek out a variety of viewpoints and that the learning material obtained by the ACLU was a rudimentary version used for a limited time.

FBI halts anti-Muslim training

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has said it has discontinued a lecture that taught counter-terrorism agents that mainstream Muslims were violent. 

The move comes after leaked documents revealed the controversial elements in the FBI's training manuals.According to the FBI documents: most American Muslims are likely to be sympathizers to "terrorist" groups like al-Qaeda. Spencer Ackerman, the journalist who broke this story for the website Wired dot com, told Al-Jazeera why the FBI teachings are "constitutionally dicey". "There is still a real ignorance and to some degree a real fear of Islam that has found a surprising home in the FBI," he said."If they spend their time and resources going after indicators of violent behavior based on the amount of religiosity a person displays, then first of all they are not going to get actual terrorists, but innocent people."

FBI's Anti-Muslim Training

Spencer Ackerman from Wired's Danger Room has acquired a course handbook used to train FBI counterterrorism officers at the FBI training ground in Quantico Virginia. The course focuses solely on the threat of terror from Muslims, and encourages trainees to focus on a Muslim's religion as the sole factor in determining if they might be a terrorist. What's worse, use of the word "radical" isn't even a focus in this handbook because according to these teachings, even mainstream Muslims are terrorist sympathizers. So basically, every Muslims likes terrorists according to them.

Public Officials' Views 

• Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky challenged the anti-Muslim training and even questioned the FBI director about the allegations. 

• FBI Director Robert Mueller tries to defend FBI policies regarding their training materials. 

• US Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday told lawmakers that FBI counterterrorism training that painted practicing US Muslims as likely extremist sympathizers was "flat-out wrong" and dangerous.
  "That can really undermine the really substantial outreach efforts that we have made and really have a negative impact on our ability to communicate effectively, as we have in the past, with this community," said Holder.
  He is completely against the use of anti-Muslim training materials.

• Democratic Senator Dick Durbin quoted FBI training that tarred Islam as "a highly violent religion," said "mainstream American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers" and called traditional Muslim attire, growing facial hair, and frequent mosque or prayer group attendance danger signs. He completely against the use of anti-Muslim training materials.