On Friday September 16, 2011, Assistant Director in Charge James W. McJunkin of Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office requested a conference call to discuss the recent controversy surrounding anti-Muslim FBI training.
Six different local Muslim organizations were represented in the conference call among them the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), as well as the Duane Morris Law Firm. McJunkin then requested a physical follow-up meeting for October 3, 2011 to further discuss the topics brought up in the conference call.
Rizwan Jaka, ADAMS Interfaith, Government, and Media Committee Co-Chair described the meetings as “a very open and frank discussion,” in a recent e-mail to the ADAMS community. McJunkin is said to have begun looking into the issue with the FBI headquarters and intends on working toward rebuilding a trusting relationship with the Muslim community.
Muslim community leaders expressed their concerned about the training and why it happened, as well as suggested ways to prevent such missteps in the future through a comprehensive review of FBI training material and trainers as well as an open dialogue between the community and FBI leaders.
The FBI recently fell under fire after FBI training material was found to include statements that “main stream [sic] American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers,” that the Prophet Mohammed was a ‘cult leader,” and suggesting that the more religious a Muslim the more likely that he or she would be violent. One FBI presentation also added, “The strategic themes animating these Islamic values are not fringe; they are main stream.”
The FBI has since released several statements regarding their official review of FBI training material including an official statement responding to the media’s reports regarding the training program.
“The training segment that is the subject of recent media reports does not reflect the views of the FBI and is not consistent with the overall instruction provided to FBI personnel. It was conducted six months ago, one time only, and was quickly discontinued because it was inconsistent with FBI standards on this topic,” read the statement.
However, exclusive reporting from WIRED magazine showed the anti-Muslim training was conducted at more than one location and on several different dates.
Since the exposure of these training documents to the public, the FBI has been on damage control, facing severe criticism not only from Muslim rights organizations but from Congress as well. However, FBI Director Robert Mueller insisted when testifying in Congress that the Bureau was no longer engaging in these “rare” and “isolated” training sessions. However, questions remain as to whether or not the FBI’s Quantico library, a private resource for agents, still carries numerous books written by anti-Islam authors.
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