Training materials used at an Army Reserve unit briefing, in Pennsylvania, was obtained from none other than the liberal hate group Southern Poverty Law Center, which lists Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism with extremism and equating them with terrorist organizations such as KKK, al-Qaeda and Hamas.
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| Material presented to soldiers at training session |
Via Examiner:
A picture of the slide posted at the UK Daily Mail shows that ultra-orthodox Jews and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were also placed on the list along with the Nation of Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The slide also called “Islamophobia” a form of religious extremism.
Another slide posted by the Daily Mail tells soldiers they are prohibited from participating in any activities, including meetings or rallies, with these groups, meaning that some Christian soldiers would not be allowed to attend church and Catholics would be banned from attending mass.
“We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told Fox News.
Todd Starnes at Fox News publishes the official Army reaction as well as the Archdiocese for the Military Services :
Army spokesman George Wright told Fox News that this was an “isolated incident not condoned by the Dept. of the Army.”
“This slide was not produced by the Army and certainly does not reflect our policy or doctrine,” he said. “It was produced by an individual without anyone in the chain of command’s knowledge or permission.”
Wright said after the complaint was lodged, the presenter deleted the slide, and apologized.
“We consider the matter closed,” he said.
The incident was made public by a soldier who attended the briefing. He asked for copies of the presentation and sent them to the Chaplain Alliance.
“He considers himself an evangelical Christian and did not appreciate being classified with terrorists,” Crews told Fox News. “There was a pervasive attitude in the presentation that anything associated with religion is an extremist.”
The Archdiocese for the Military Services was shocked to learn that the Army considered Catholicism to be an example of extremism.
“The Archdiocese is astounded that Catholics were listed alongside groups that are, by their very mission and nature, violent and extremist,” the Archdiocese said in a statement.
Then Starnes reveals where the training material originated.. from none other than the liberal hate group, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC):
In the notes it was clearly stated that the presenter was not a subject matter expert, and produced the material after conducting Internet research,” Wright said.The Southern Poverty Law Center denies listing Evangelical Christianity or Catholicism as extremist groups, but a look at those they do have listed include 39 "christian Identity" groups and included in their 90 "general hate groups" they list what they term as "radical traditionalist Catholic."
So if the presenter was not an expert, what were they doing presenting the material, Crews asked.
He said he had a chance to speak with the officer who conducted the briefing and she told him that she got her information from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Why is there such dependence upon the work of the SPLC to determine hate groups and extremist groups,” Crews said. “It appears that some military entities are using definitions of ‘hate’ and ‘extreme’ from the lists of anti-Christian political organizations. That violates the apolitical stance appropriate for the military.”
They also list the Tea Party Nation as a hate group, among multiple others that disagree with their liberal ideology on abortion, gay marriage, etc..
SPLC recently headlined in the media after declaring that people who believe Barack Obama is pushing for polices considered as gun grabs, like guns bans and ammunition magazine/clip limits, are listed with the far left SPL, as conspiracy theorists and radical right-wing hate groups.
The SPLC "about us" states:
Grassroots Campaigns is a progressive organization that specializes in running face-to-face campaigns for political parties, candidates, and advocacy groups. We build membership bases and mobilize citizens for groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Democratic National Committee, the Nature Conservancy and Oxfam America.
Emphasis mine, 'nuff said?