Muslim Letter that Prompted the Pentagon to Purge Military Instruction “Offensive to Islam”

A letter dated October 19, 2011 signed by 57 Muslim organizations, was sent to the White House with copies to other federal officials responsible for national security, including Secretary of the Department of Defense, Leon Panetta.  The letter demanded that all training materials that they judge to be offensive to Islam be "purged" and instructors "are effectively disciplined."   

Because many reporters and citizens have asked for a copy of the letter, TMLC is linking to the 7-page letter here, and attaching it to this press release as well.  You may also view it by going to the TMLC website at: www.thomasmore.org.  Note the highlighted areas on page 5 of the letter.

This letter was referred to in a previous Thomas More Law Center press release. Click here. 

Following that letter, in April 2012, Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Matthew Dooley, a highly decorated combat veteran, was publically condemned by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and relieved of his teaching assignment at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC).  The reason: the negative way Islam was portrayed in his elective course entitled, Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism.
 
On May 10, 2012, during a Pentagon press conference with Defense Secretary Panetta seated next to him, General Martin Dempsey expressed negative opinions regarding the Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism course, characterizing it as "totally objectionable" and "against our values."  General Dempsey personally committed to removing any similar curriculum from military professional education within the JFSC and elsewhere. 

The Thomas More Law Center now represents LTC Dooley, a 1994 Graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.

Click here to support TMLC's defense of LTC Dooley.
 
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, observed, "In order to appease Muslims and the White House, General Dempsey and the Department of Defense rushed to punish LTC Dooley.  In the process, they violated not only our Nation's core principles of free speech and academic freedom guaranteed by our Constitution, but also, a number of the military's own regulations dealing with academic freedom and non-attribution policies of the National Defense University (NDU)  to which LTC Dooley was assigned.  They violated the right to due process of law and even by-passed the University's Provost, who under NDU's own rules has primary responsibility for adjudication of this matter."

Click here for a Summary of NDU regulations on Free Speech and Academic Freedom

Claire M. Lopez, a former CIA agent and strategic policy and intelligence expert, recently commented on General Dempsey's order:

"The final bastion of America's defense against Islamic jihad and sharia, the Pentagon, fell to the enemy in April 2012, with the issuance of a letter from General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, re-issuing his earlier order that all Department of Defense (DoD) course content be scrubbed to ensure no lingering remnant of disrespect to Islam."

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