57 Organizations Call on White House to Investigate Offensive FBI Trainings

Today, Muslim Advocates, working in coalition with 56 Muslim, Arab, and South Asian organizations, requested that the White House create an interagency taskforce to investigate bigoted and offensive trainers and materials used in trainings for counterterrorism agents and law enforcement. Wired magazine first reported in July that the FBI was using materials that stated that Prophet Muhammad was a "cult leader," and that Islam is a religion that "transforms [a] country's culture into 7th-century Arabian ways." Recently disclosed materials show that these grossly inaccurate and inflammatory training materials extend beyond the FBI and are being used by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Army.

The coalition letter, addressed to Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan, asks that a federal taskforce review and purge all biased trainers and training materials, implement mandatory re-training programs for those agents subjected to biased training, and ensure that those who promoted such trainers and materials are disciplined. This task force should be fair and transparent, and its review should be done with input from the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities, including civil rights lawyers, religious leaders, and law enforcement experts.

Among the signatories to the letter: Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), Islamic Information Center, Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of Metropolitan NY, Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers, Somali Action Alliance, and South Asian Americans Leading Together. A full list of signatory organizations follows the letter.

Read the full letter (PDF) to Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan:

Community letter to Brennan re FBI trainings, 10-19-11, FINAL.pdf