Pursuant to a July 18, 2012 Freedom of Information Act request, Judicial Watch obtained documentation on January 15 and April 16, 2013 concerning an FBI anti-terrorism training materials purge.
The purge revolved around the removal of materials deemed “offensive” to Muslims. It was carried out by the Inspection Division (INSD) working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Northern California.
After the INSD and SMEs went through the anti-terrorism training materials, the following are examples of the kind of changes that were requested:
Remove references to mosques specially as a radicalization incubator
Remove sweeping generality of “Those who fit the terrorist profile best (for the present at least) are young male immigrants of Middle Eastern appearance”
The INSD and SEMs also seized on statements within the training materials that “inaccurately” argued that “the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization” and that “inaccurately” claimed a clear link between Al Qaeda and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Just over three months ago–in February 2013–Fox News highlighted Al Qaeda’s role in financing the World Trade Center bombing. And in May 2013, the Washington Examiner pointed out that while the Muslim Brotherhood “is not on the U.S. State Department’s official list of international terror organizations, some of its offshoots, including the Palestinian group Hamas, are.”
According to NPR, the attempt to remove anything offensive to Muslims from the anti-terrorism training materials resulted in a purge of “876 pages and 392 presentations.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.
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