Selected Article Excerpts:

• West Point issued a brief statement late Monday saying that retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin has decided to withdraw from speaking at the Feb. 8 prayer breakfast and another speaker would be lined up in his place.

• Lt. Gen William G. Boykin has been criticized for speeches at evangelical Christian churches in which he made disparaging remarks about Islam. Boykin has said that Muslims are trying to implement Shariah Law in the United States and that Islam is the greatest threat America faces.

• Groups such as VoteVets.org, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, as well as Forum on Military Chaplaincy all petitioned the Pentagon to stop Boykin from speaking at the Feb. 8 breakfast, Stars and Stripes reported.

• Before his retirement in 2002, Boykin was chastised by military commanders for comparing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a holy war. Boykin later issued a written statement apologizing and said he didn't mean to insult Islam.

• Pentagon investigation concluded that Boykin violated regulations by failing to make clear he was not speaking in an official capacity when he made nearly two dozen church speeches beginning in January 2002. It also found that Boykin, who made most speeches wearing his uniform, didn't get prior clearance for the remarks.

Click here to read
this article at MSNBC

Selected Article Excerpts:

• It was just two days ago that we published an article about the controversy over the invitation to Ret. Gen. Boykin to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast at West Point. In that article Boykin's previous anti-Muslim statements were discussed and the text of letters of protest sent to West Point by Vote Vets and MRFF were published. Since then, the Forum on Military Chaplaincy, CAIR, and other organizations added their objections.

• This morning, Jon Soltz, co-founder of VoteVets.org published an article on the Huffington Post announcing that they were launching a campaign so that people could send an email to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno asking him to reconsider the invitation to Ret. Gen. Boykin.

• I signed the VoteVets petition, and hadn't even had a chance to write something encouraging others to do so when I received a press release from Mikey Weinstein at MRFF titled "Under Pressure from MRFF and other Civil Rights Allies, Islamophobic Retired Lt. Gen. Boykin Withdraws from National Prayer Breakfast at West Point". The release says:
  
  This is a monumentally-clear indication that when civil rights organizations such as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and VoteVets work toward a common goal, with the strength of our dedicated supporters behind us, concrete positive change can be achieved. We are deeply saddened that it took a public outcry of this magnitude to cause Boykin to pull out from this event, likely under pressure from within the Pentagon. Our outcry must not stop - all individuals within the command structure responsible for inviting this vile Islamophobe must be held accountable via courts martial.

Click here to read
this article at TAM

Selected Article Excerpts:

• CAIRO - A US Muslim advocacy group has welcomed the withdrawal of a retired army general known for his anti-Islam rhetoric from a planned prayer breakfast at the US Military Academy at West Point. "We welcome Lt. Gen William G. Boykin's withdrawal from this event," Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.

• General Boykin, a longtime commander of Special Operations forces, first sparked a controversy after the Sept. 11 attacks when, as a senior Pentagon official, he described the fight against terrorism as a Christian battle against Satan. Retiring from the army in 2007, he started a new career as a conservative Christian speaker, leading an evangelical group called Kingdom Warriors.

• As news of his invitation was made public, a liberal veterans’ group, VoteVets.org, demanded that the invitation be revoked.
  
  Several other groups also denounced the invitation, with some faculty members and cadets voicing concern.
  
  The Forum on the Military Chaplaincy (a liberal group of retired military chaplains), the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and CAIR made public appeals to the Pentagon to cancel General Boykin’s appearance.

• Many West Point cadets were also critical of the Islamophobic general's invitation.
  
  "People are definitely talking about it here," a fourth-year cadet at West Point, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals for breaking military discipline, told The New York Times.
  
  "They’re inviting someone who’s openly criticizing a religion that is practiced on campus," he said.
  
  "I know Muslim cadets here, and they are great, outstanding citizens, and this ex-general is saying they shouldn’t enjoy the same rights."

• Since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, many Muslims have complained of facing discrimination and stereotypes in the society because of their Islamic attires or identities.
  
  A US survey has revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.
  
  There is no official count of Muslims serving in the 1.4 million-strong US armed forces because recruits are not required to state their religion.
  
  But according to the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affair Council, there are more than 20,000 Muslims serving in the military.

Click here to read this
article at OnIslam

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