By Cristela Guerra | News-Press.com | July 26, 2012 | [Original Article]
A recent complaint about counter-terrorism instructor Sam Kharoba of Cape Coral by the Council on American-Islamic Relations is going to be brought up at a meeting of the Florida Criminal Justice Training Center Directors Association on Oct. 31 in Sarasota....
...Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey made the request for the issue to be placed on the agenda in a letter reply to CAIR on Wednesday...
...They [CAIR] requested that he be removed from teaching. Kharoba is not certified to teach through FDLE though he received an exception. His academic experience is in computer software engineering and he lived in Jordan when he was younger... [Read More]
Showing posts with label FDLE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FDLE. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Florida law enforcement comes under scrutiny for repeatedly using anti-Islam trainer
By Alex Kane | Mondoweiss | July 24, 2012 | [Original Article]
"Sam Kharoba fancies himself an “expert” on terrorism. The Jordanian-born Kharoba, a Christian, believes the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, is a “pedophile, a serial killer, a rapist.” And he’s teaching the police officers of Florida, where he is based, these claims in courses on Islam and terrorism.
But a coalition of 30 Muslim organizations is now raising the heat on Kharoba and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). A detailed letter sent this month to the FDLE commissioner outlines Kharoba’s anti-Muslim statements and demands that “Kharoba be removed from your approved list of trainers and not be approved to train anyone associated with the FDLE.”...
...The letter highlights some damning features of that feedback. One law enforcement agent said that, after taking Kharoba’s class, he or she was “going to make sure we have completed survey of existing ME/Muslim population and have a clearer understanding of their properties.” Another said: “This can be very useful knowing that Shiite is more radical than Sunni.”... [Read More]
...Kharoba was also the subject of a 2005 complaint filed by a Muslim law enforcement officer with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The commission found that “the instructor made numerous statements and comments offensive to complainant based on his religion (Muslim).”..."
"Sam Kharoba fancies himself an “expert” on terrorism. The Jordanian-born Kharoba, a Christian, believes the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, is a “pedophile, a serial killer, a rapist.” And he’s teaching the police officers of Florida, where he is based, these claims in courses on Islam and terrorism.
But a coalition of 30 Muslim organizations is now raising the heat on Kharoba and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). A detailed letter sent this month to the FDLE commissioner outlines Kharoba’s anti-Muslim statements and demands that “Kharoba be removed from your approved list of trainers and not be approved to train anyone associated with the FDLE.”...
...The letter highlights some damning features of that feedback. One law enforcement agent said that, after taking Kharoba’s class, he or she was “going to make sure we have completed survey of existing ME/Muslim population and have a clearer understanding of their properties.” Another said: “This can be very useful knowing that Shiite is more radical than Sunni.”... [Read More]
...Kharoba was also the subject of a 2005 complaint filed by a Muslim law enforcement officer with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The commission found that “the instructor made numerous statements and comments offensive to complainant based on his religion (Muslim).”..."
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
EEOC Determination Against Anti-Muslim Training: Muslim Asserted "Stereotyping" and "Personal Bias"
CAIR Florida | July 16, 2012
In a decision available online, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) ruled in favor of a Muslim who filed a complaint about a 2005 course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). In Washington Monthly's "How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam," available online since early 2012, authors Joshua Craze and Meg Stalcup describe the Muslim's complaint about Kharoba this way:
SEE: How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2011/1103.stalcup-craze.html
"As things turned out, though, the students of FLETC wound up being more skeptical than the school's course evaluators. The same month that Kharoba was being invited to incorporate his material into the FLETC curriculum, FLETC received a complaint from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official named Muhammad Rana. Rana had been angered by course materials that included a handout describing "fundamentalist Muslims" as people with "long beards and head coverings" who, while "we call them radicals ... are practicing true Islam." Eleven out of fifteen members of the class submitted a letter in support of Rana's complaint, and Rana took his case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled in his favor."
In his March 2012 response to the Washington Monthly article, Kharoba did not make any effort to rebut Craze and Stalcup's reporting on Rana's complaint.
SEE: CTOCs Statement on the Washington Monthly Article
http://www.ctocus.com/CTOC_Statement_Washington_Monthly_Article.pdf
The EEOC, referring to Kharoba as I1, also found the following in its decision:
SEE: EEOC Decision
http://www.eeoc.gov/decisions/0720060056.txt
"The [EEOC Administrative Judge] noted that complainant was not the only student who felt I1's comments were inappropriate and had the purpose of degrading and demonizing followers of Islam. The evidence showed that the agency had received complaints regarding this course from prior students. Indeed, complainant's classmates complained as well. On February 23, 2005, eleven out of the fifteen members of the class submitted a letter to the Director of the training program (D1), requesting that he eliminate I1's class altogether, calling it 'repulsive.' The letter from the class to D1 stated:
"'Our reasons for making this request is that we found the content, most of it, to be filled with stereotyping, unsubstantiated allegations, unrelated information and personal bias. [I1] continuously emphasized that all people of the Muslim faith would exhibit this particular behavior and share the one common goal of either converting everyone to their religion or eliminating them, in essence, they all had terrorist characteristics.'"
SEE:
Muslim Organizations Say Police Training Teaches Bigotry
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-07-11/features/fl-muslims-anti-terrorism-training-20120711_1_cair-s-south-florida-nezar-hamze-islam-and-terrorism
Muslims Seek Law Enforcement Instructor's Ouster
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jul/12/2/muslims-seek-law-enforcement-instructors-ouster-ar-429525/
In a decision available online, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) ruled in favor of a Muslim who filed a complaint about a 2005 course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). In Washington Monthly's "How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam," available online since early 2012, authors Joshua Craze and Meg Stalcup describe the Muslim's complaint about Kharoba this way:
SEE: How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2011/1103.stalcup-craze.html
"As things turned out, though, the students of FLETC wound up being more skeptical than the school's course evaluators. The same month that Kharoba was being invited to incorporate his material into the FLETC curriculum, FLETC received a complaint from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official named Muhammad Rana. Rana had been angered by course materials that included a handout describing "fundamentalist Muslims" as people with "long beards and head coverings" who, while "we call them radicals ... are practicing true Islam." Eleven out of fifteen members of the class submitted a letter in support of Rana's complaint, and Rana took his case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled in his favor."
In his March 2012 response to the Washington Monthly article, Kharoba did not make any effort to rebut Craze and Stalcup's reporting on Rana's complaint.
SEE: CTOCs Statement on the Washington Monthly Article
http://www.ctocus.com/CTOC_Statement_Washington_Monthly_Article.pdf
The EEOC, referring to Kharoba as I1, also found the following in its decision:
SEE: EEOC Decision
http://www.eeoc.gov/decisions/0720060056.txt
"The [EEOC Administrative Judge] noted that complainant was not the only student who felt I1's comments were inappropriate and had the purpose of degrading and demonizing followers of Islam. The evidence showed that the agency had received complaints regarding this course from prior students. Indeed, complainant's classmates complained as well. On February 23, 2005, eleven out of the fifteen members of the class submitted a letter to the Director of the training program (D1), requesting that he eliminate I1's class altogether, calling it 'repulsive.' The letter from the class to D1 stated:
"'Our reasons for making this request is that we found the content, most of it, to be filled with stereotyping, unsubstantiated allegations, unrelated information and personal bias. [I1] continuously emphasized that all people of the Muslim faith would exhibit this particular behavior and share the one common goal of either converting everyone to their religion or eliminating them, in essence, they all had terrorist characteristics.'"
SEE:
Muslim Organizations Say Police Training Teaches Bigotry
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-07-11/features/fl-muslims-anti-terrorism-training-20120711_1_cair-s-south-florida-nezar-hamze-islam-and-terrorism
Muslims Seek Law Enforcement Instructor's Ouster
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jul/12/2/muslims-seek-law-enforcement-instructors-ouster-ar-429525/
Friday, July 13, 2012
Expert Gives Florida Police Anti-Muslim Training, Claims Civil Rights Group
By Claire Gordon | AOL | July 13, 2012 | [Original Article]
"Counterterrorism in the U.S. is traditionally the job of the FBI. But since 9/11, increasing numbers of state and local police have undergone training in spotting and catching terrorists, often funded by federal grants. Muslim groups are now concerned that some of the counterterrorism experts instructing our nation's police are unqualified and bigoted, spreading stereotypes about Muslims that ultimately make our country less safe.
One of those experts is Sam Kharoba, president of the Florida-based Counter Terrorism Operations Center. Through an open information request, the Council on American-Islam Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, found that Kharoba had conducted at least 21 separate trainings in Florida between 2005 and 2011, many of them sponsored and advertised by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
A letter sent Wednesday, co-signed by 18 other Muslim organizations and a half-dozen Florida mosques, as well as non-Muslim advocacy groups, asked FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey to sever the department's ties with Kharoba; to hire "someone with appropriate credentials and accurate subject matter content" to re-educate the officers who received his training; and to adopt a vetting procedure for counterterrorism experts who train police...
...Kharoba is a Christian, but was born in majority Muslim Jordan. "That's like saying any American who lives in America is qualified to teach about Christianity," says Hassan Shibly, the executive director of CAIR's Florida chapter.
Shibly believes that Kharoba's teachings result in more police profiling of Muslims. "We've had so many complaints from local Muslims who've been praying, and stopped and questioned," he says. "and asked what hand he wears his watch on. This guy teaches that if you wear a watch on your right hand you're a jihadist."...
...Critics of the training fear that it will discourage American Muslims from coming to police officers and agents with valuable leads, and cooperating with investigations.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said on record that the cooperation of Muslim communities is "tremendously important" and that revelations, such as the one about offensive training materials, "set us back.""
"Counterterrorism in the U.S. is traditionally the job of the FBI. But since 9/11, increasing numbers of state and local police have undergone training in spotting and catching terrorists, often funded by federal grants. Muslim groups are now concerned that some of the counterterrorism experts instructing our nation's police are unqualified and bigoted, spreading stereotypes about Muslims that ultimately make our country less safe.
One of those experts is Sam Kharoba, president of the Florida-based Counter Terrorism Operations Center. Through an open information request, the Council on American-Islam Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, found that Kharoba had conducted at least 21 separate trainings in Florida between 2005 and 2011, many of them sponsored and advertised by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
A letter sent Wednesday, co-signed by 18 other Muslim organizations and a half-dozen Florida mosques, as well as non-Muslim advocacy groups, asked FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey to sever the department's ties with Kharoba; to hire "someone with appropriate credentials and accurate subject matter content" to re-educate the officers who received his training; and to adopt a vetting procedure for counterterrorism experts who train police...
...Kharoba is a Christian, but was born in majority Muslim Jordan. "That's like saying any American who lives in America is qualified to teach about Christianity," says Hassan Shibly, the executive director of CAIR's Florida chapter.
Shibly believes that Kharoba's teachings result in more police profiling of Muslims. "We've had so many complaints from local Muslims who've been praying, and stopped and questioned," he says. "and asked what hand he wears his watch on. This guy teaches that if you wear a watch on your right hand you're a jihadist."...
...Critics of the training fear that it will discourage American Muslims from coming to police officers and agents with valuable leads, and cooperating with investigations.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said on record that the cooperation of Muslim communities is "tremendously important" and that revelations, such as the one about offensive training materials, "set us back.""
Thursday, July 12, 2012
CAIR Condemns Anti-Terrorism Police Training as ‘Biased’
By Alexa Robinson | Toonaripost.com | July 12, 2012 | [Original Article]
"The Florida branches of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference on July 11 to condemn anti-terrorism training conducted and the anti-terrorism training manual, A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism, by Sam Khabora, as “factually erroneous and biased.”
The Tampa CAIR’s press conference – presented by Director Hassan Shibly- not only announced its rejection of Khabora’s statements and training but also stated that it has sent its concerns in aletter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)...
...CAIR’s first concern was that Kharoba is not qualified to speak on the topic of Islam. Kharoba ‘s certifcation in the area of Islamic culture comes from an “Advanced Level General Certificate of Education in Arabic Culture” in the United Kingdom, which CAIR claims is the equivalent of an AP course in high school.
Additionally, CAIR pointed out at their press conference that much of the Islamic community in the United States is not of Arab descent. In fact, according to the US Department of State statistics in 2010 the majority of Arab Americans (two thirds) are Christian and the majority (up to one third) of Muslims in the United States are African-Americans.
Kharoba’s other claim to authority is that he lived in the Middle East for seventeen years. Shibly stated that letting Kharoba teach police based on this argument is like claiming that “any person who lives in America is qualified to talk about American history and Christianity in America.” In the letter to the FDLE, CAIR states, “Kharoba has neither the academic nor the operational background to qualify as a subject matter expert on either Islam or countering violent extremism.”
CAIR also cites other organizations, news agencies, and government officials who have rejected Kharoba’s training as biased and incorrect. The Washington Monthly March/April 2011 edition reported on Kharoba’s training in an article entitled “How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam... [Read More]
...Also speaking at the press conference was Bishop of the Apostolic Church and President of the Florida Council of Churches Chuck Leigh. Bishop Leigh castigated the training as “spending money on bigotry” that Kharoba’s alleged misrepresentations of Islam “offends the very heart of Christianity.” The Bishop went on to state, “I think God is offended by it.”..."
"The Florida branches of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference on July 11 to condemn anti-terrorism training conducted and the anti-terrorism training manual, A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism, by Sam Khabora, as “factually erroneous and biased.”
The Tampa CAIR’s press conference – presented by Director Hassan Shibly- not only announced its rejection of Khabora’s statements and training but also stated that it has sent its concerns in aletter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)...
...CAIR’s first concern was that Kharoba is not qualified to speak on the topic of Islam. Kharoba ‘s certifcation in the area of Islamic culture comes from an “Advanced Level General Certificate of Education in Arabic Culture” in the United Kingdom, which CAIR claims is the equivalent of an AP course in high school.
Additionally, CAIR pointed out at their press conference that much of the Islamic community in the United States is not of Arab descent. In fact, according to the US Department of State statistics in 2010 the majority of Arab Americans (two thirds) are Christian and the majority (up to one third) of Muslims in the United States are African-Americans.
Kharoba’s other claim to authority is that he lived in the Middle East for seventeen years. Shibly stated that letting Kharoba teach police based on this argument is like claiming that “any person who lives in America is qualified to talk about American history and Christianity in America.” In the letter to the FDLE, CAIR states, “Kharoba has neither the academic nor the operational background to qualify as a subject matter expert on either Islam or countering violent extremism.”
CAIR also cites other organizations, news agencies, and government officials who have rejected Kharoba’s training as biased and incorrect. The Washington Monthly March/April 2011 edition reported on Kharoba’s training in an article entitled “How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam... [Read More]
...Also speaking at the press conference was Bishop of the Apostolic Church and President of the Florida Council of Churches Chuck Leigh. Bishop Leigh castigated the training as “spending money on bigotry” that Kharoba’s alleged misrepresentations of Islam “offends the very heart of Christianity.” The Bishop went on to state, “I think God is offended by it.”..."
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
CAIR: Fla. Law Enforcement Asked to Drop Anti-Muslim Trainer
CAIR Florida | July 11, 2012
(TAMPA, FL, 7/11/2012) -- The Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today held news conferences in Tampa and Pembroke Pines to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to stop using a notorious anti-Muslim bigot as a counterterrorism trainer.
(TAMPA, FL, 7/11/2012) -- The Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today held news conferences in Tampa and Pembroke Pines to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to stop using a notorious anti-Muslim bigot as a counterterrorism trainer.
At the news conferences, CAIR-FL released a letter sent to the
FDLE by a 30-member
coalition of Muslim organizations and individuals requesting
that the department no longer use Sam
Kharoba of the Counter Terrorism Operations Center (CTOC)
as a trainer on issues related to Islam and Muslims.
The coalition's letter to FDLE Commissioner Gerald M. Bailey asserts
that Kharoba's training materials on Islam are riddled with inaccuracies,
sweeping generalizations and stereotypes, that he is unqualified as a subject
matter expert on either Islam or countering violent extremism and that his
training has elicited disturbingly prejudiced responses from trainees.
It states in part:
"Sam Kharoba's training undermines the Building Communities
of Trust (BCOT) initiative released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),
Department of Homeland Security and International Association of Chiefs of
Police. It also directly contradicts the Line Training provided by the DOJ for
our Law Enforcement Officers regarding SARS."
That letter also asks that officers who received Kharoba's
biased training be given accurate and unbiased retraining by credible experts
and that the FDLE adopt a policy ensuring that those offering counterterrorism
training be vetted for their academic credentials, operational experience and
accuracy of course content.
For more Background on Sam Kharoba, see:
Critics say Broward College teaches police to profile, discriminate against
Muslims
FDLE and Broward College disagree on who is responsible for controversial police training
FDLE and Broward College disagree on who is responsible for controversial police training
Documents obtained by CAIR-FL reveal at least 21 separate
trainings conducted by Kharoba in Florida from 2005-2012. In many cases, these
trainings were sanctioned by the FDLE.
The documents were obtained through a nationwide effort in which
CAIR chapters filed 87 separate public records requests about possible
Islamophobic training of local, state and national law enforcement personnel.
SEE: CAIR Files Multi-State Records Requests on Anti-Muslim Law
Enforcement Trainings
Kharoba's main training manual, "A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism," combines vile accusations against Islam, sweeping generalizations targeting all Muslims and factual inaccuracies.
Kharoba's main training manual, "A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism," combines vile accusations against Islam, sweeping generalizations targeting all Muslims and factual inaccuracies.
About the manual, the coalition letter states: "Objective
readers of this material will walk away with a clear impression that Al-Qaeda
and its ideological allies are representative of mainstream Islam and that all
Muslims lie as a matter of routine."
The first chapter of Kharoba's training manual attacks the
entire religion of Islam and attempts to prove, through selective evidence,
that it is inherently violent. He writes: "Most of us have heard
statements similar to 'Islam is a religion of peace' and that 'Muslim radicals
hijacked, twisted and altered Islam to justify their Jihad against
non-Muslims.' This book will provide definitive proof contradicting these
statements and allegations."
In its 2011 investigative report, "How We Train Our Cops to
Fear Islam," Washington Monthly quoted Kharoba: "'When I look at the
life of Muhammad, I get a very nasty image,' said Kharoba. . .'And that is just
to start off with. Anyone who says that Islam is a religion of peace,' he
continued, 'is either ignorant or flat out lying.'"
CAIR also recently called on the Department of Defense to
dismiss an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., who
taught fellow officers that only a "total war" on Islam would protect
America, that they should use "Hiroshima" tactics, target civilian
populations, and abandon the Geneva Conventions. The instructor of that course
was later relieved of his teaching duties.
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization has also
called on the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security and
Congress to provide oversight for apparently widespread anti-Muslim bias in the
training of law enforcement, security and military personnel nationwide.
SEE: CAIR Asks Sec. Napolitano to Probe Use of Islamophobic Trainers
Obama Orders Clean Up of Islamophobic Terror Training
Obama Orders Clean Up of Islamophobic Terror Training
An 80-page report by Political Research Associates (PRA), titled
"Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants, &
the Threat to Rights and Security," details a systemic failure to regulate
content in counterterrorism training.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy
organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage
dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build
coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Muslim advocates say police workshops malign their faith, call for end to training by group
By Matt Sedensky | TheRepublic.com | July 11, 2012 | [Original Article]
"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Muslim advocates say workshops held for police around the state are denigrating their faith.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and a number of smaller groups say training led by Sam Kharoba of the Cape Coral-based Counter Terrorism Operations Center maligns the Prophet Muhammad, spreads mistruths about Islam and makes sweeping generalizations about the religion.
They're calling on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to end trainings led by Kharoba. FDLE says it will review the Muslim groups' concerns.
Kharoba says the claims are "manufactured distractions" and that his training "is based on historical facts found in the most respected and authentic Islamic religious texts."
He says he's trained about 20,000 law enforcement officers around the country in the last decade and that the vast majority gave positive feedback."
(Story distributed by The Associated Press)
"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Muslim advocates say workshops held for police around the state are denigrating their faith.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and a number of smaller groups say training led by Sam Kharoba of the Cape Coral-based Counter Terrorism Operations Center maligns the Prophet Muhammad, spreads mistruths about Islam and makes sweeping generalizations about the religion.
They're calling on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to end trainings led by Kharoba. FDLE says it will review the Muslim groups' concerns.
Kharoba says the claims are "manufactured distractions" and that his training "is based on historical facts found in the most respected and authentic Islamic religious texts."
He says he's trained about 20,000 law enforcement officers around the country in the last decade and that the vast majority gave positive feedback."
(Story distributed by The Associated Press)
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