Sunday, April 7, 2013

Army Training Material on ‘Religious Extremism’ Lists Evangelical Christians, Catholics and Some Jews Alongside KKK, Al-Qaeda and Hamas

(The Blaze) During a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, a U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity, Catholicism and even “Islamophobia” as examples of “religious extremism,” Fox News’ Todd Starnes reports. Listed alongside them were the Ku Klux Klan, Hamas and al-Qaeda.

The incident reportedly occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on religious extremism. At the top of the list is Evangelical Christianity. However, other extremist groups included Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam and the Jewish Defense League.

Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told Fox News that the list is “offensive” and that Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church should not be on the list.

“It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization,” he said.

Army spokesman George Wright told Fox News that the martial is not condoned by the U.S. Army and represented an “isolated incident.”

“This slide was not produced by the Army and certainly does not reflect our policy or doctrine…It was produced by an individual without anyone in the chain of command’s knowledge or permission,” he said.

After a complaint was filed by a soldier, Wright said the instructor deleted the slide and apologized. “We consider the matter closed,” he added.

To read Fox News’ entire report, click here.