One of the slides from a presentation that was merely intended to ‘stimulate discussion’

Poor judgment and poor oversight led to the teaching of anti-Islamic material at a military school for officers, the Pentagon said Wednesday

Though an Army lieutenant colonel who taught the class has been relieved of his teaching duties, investigators recommended reviewing the actions of two civilian officials at the school to see if they also should face discipline, the Defense Department said in a statement. A second military officer will receive counseling.

Materials in a course for military officers at Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., portrayed the U.S. as at war with Islam. That’s an idea counter to repeated assertions by U.S. officials that the war being fought by America is one against terrorists.

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The South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFL) today called on the FBI to investigate a call by Pamela Geller, the leader of an anti-Muslim hate group, to demolish a mosque in that state.

Geller, who appears as a regular guest on FOX News, posted an article on her blog, titled “Obama’s DOJ secretly drops terrorism charges in Taliban Case,” calling for a Florida Mosque to be demolished. This comes after the Department of Justice dropped charges against Irfan Khan, one of the defendants that was recently arrested and indicted on terrorism support charges.

“Calling for the destruction of a mosque may incite people to commit acts of violence against ordinary Muslims,” says CAIR-SFL Executive Director Nezar Hamze. “We are taking this call for the destruction of an American house of worship very seriously and have reported it to the FBI for review.”

CAIR press release, 20 June 2012

One Direction: don’t be fooled by the cute puppies – it’s all an Islamist plot

One Direction star Zayn Malik has been accused of “enticing jihad” and “pimping Islam” to young female fans in an outrageous online attack. Right wing blogger Debbie Schlussel warned parents to “keep their daughters away” from the British boyband, currently on a sell-out US tour.

The American claimed Zayn, 19, had posted tweets for fans about Ramadan and Allah. She ranted: “The scary thing is that millions of girls in America and around the world are infatuated with the members of One Direction, including Malik. He knows the power he has over these mindless girls and is using that influence to preach the Islamic faith. It’s dangerous.”

She even blasted Zayn for wearing a keffiyeh – a cotton scarf – which she called “official garb of Islamic terrorism”.

Schlussel ended the blog with: “Keep your daughters away from Zayn Malik’s enticing jihad. With the boy band One Direction, it’s all about pimping Islam amid the deceptive visage of angelic, effeminate boys in a band. Yup, for them there is definitely One Direction: facing Mecca.”

Sun, 20 June 2012

See also Sheila Musaji, “Debbie Schlussel discovers ‘boy band jihad’?”, The American Muslim, 12 June 2012

For a brief moment Friday, the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” blared over the speakers of a ride at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn; but nearby, an anti-Islamic protest made its way down Warren Avenue, drowning out the lyrics’ message of friendship with the angry shouts of attendees.

While the majority of the festival remained unscathed, the Bible Believers – a small contigent with an anti-Islam message – protested at the fair on Warren Avenue.

Near them, separated by Wayne County police, a crowd of 50-100 counter-protesters contested the group’s presence with words and actions. Most were teenagers, while several adult festival-goers urged the youth to break up their groups and ignore the protest.

The group, armed with signs preaching messages against Islam, stayed for about an hour and a half. Bottles were thrown, swear words were shouted and obscene gestures were made while the police routinely stepped in to separate the groups. Midway through the affair, four mounted police officers were brought in to quell the crowd.

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