The Miami Herald reports that CAIR claims Kharoba's training classes have
.. maligned the Prophet Muhammad and promulgated mistruths about Islam.
"It's troubling, un-American and frankly, quite possibly illegal training," said Hassan Shibly of CAIR, which focused its criticisms squarely on one man, Sam Kharoba, who has led a variety of classes for police through his Counter Terrorism Operations Center. "It makes us less safe and less free."
Kharoba called the claims "manufactured distractions" and said his training "is based on historical facts found in the most respected and authentic Islamic religious texts."
"CTOC challenges these critics to a public debate to find any factual flaws with our training material," he wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Under a public records request, CAIR said it found Kharoba held at least 21 separate trainings for state law enforcement agencies since 2005, some of them sanctioned by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They say he uses a training manual that says "Muhammad lived a diabolical life" and that Osama bin Laden "did not hijack or twist Islam."
According to CAIR Kharoba was quoted in Washington Monthly as saying:
"When I look at the life of Muhammad, I get a very nasty image ... I am talking about a pedophile, a serial killer, a rapist."
He did marry a 6-year-old and finally consummated the marriage when she was only 9. That's certainly not an inaccuracy. Kharoba defended himself by claiming that the statements were taken out of context in order to
"slander law enforcement trainers." He says he makes clear that "not all Muslims are radical."
He also mentioned in a phone call with the Sun-Sentinel that,
"I have an in-depth knowledge of Islam to the extent that Muslims themselves are not able to debate me. I extend an invitation to any critics to debate me on any subject matter related to Islam and terrorism."
According to the complaint filed by the coalition, Kharoba's manual also states that Muhammad's initial Quranic revelations were
".. peaceful and tolerant but later became radical and militant."
That Osama Bin Laden was simply emulating Muhammad's violent path, and that
... Islam allows believers "to lie and purposely deceive" to serve the goal of "worldwide supremacy."
All true. But it's not just CAIR and the rest of the coalition that isn't pleased with how law enforcement is being trained for counter-terrorism, several senators piped in on the issue this past March.
Last March, Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder, citing the Washington Monthly article.
"We are concerned with recent reports that state and local law enforcement agencies are being trained by individuals who not only do not understand the ideology of violent Islamic extremism but also cast aspersions on a wide swath of ordinary Americans merely because of their religious affiliation," they wrote.
New York City law enforcement came under attack in January, 2012 for showing the anti-Islamic extremism film The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America
. The film premiered back in 2008, and I had the opportunity to see it; a very powerful documentary about the dangers of radical Islam in the U.S. .CAIR et al wants Kharoba fired, but he says that over the past 10 years he has trained 20,000 law enforcement officers, including about 100 Muslims, none of whom complained. Spokesperson for FDLE, Gretly Plessinger, concurs. According to Plessinger, he has only "received positive feedback from those taking the course. No complaints." But does plan on reviewing CAIR's concerns which includes retraining officers who took COTC training since 2005. Rather than deal with CAIR, I have no doubt he will be fired.
I have no doubts there are Westernized, secular, peace-loving Muslims who want to co-exist, I have even met some. But those who don't believe there's a major global problem with radical Islam, and that it exists in our own backyard are incredible fools.
