Following a letter from one of the nation's leading Muslim advocacy groups, a Navy spokesperson said that a SEAL training facility in Virginia Beach will not use an image of a woman wearing a hijab and aiming a firearm as target practice.
The move was sparked by a letter from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), addressed to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, following The Virginian-Pilot's publication of a photo showing the target, which had not yet been used.
"Using a Muslim woman wearing a religious head scarf with [verses from the] Quran behind her as a target for our nation's military personnel is offensive and sends a negative and counterproductive message to trainees and to the Muslim-majority nations to which they may be deployed," CAIR director Nihad Awad wrote.
"This is yet another example of why the Department of Defense needs to fix what appears to be an ongoing problem by consulting credible scholars and experts to review all training and training materials related to Islam or Muslims," he reportedly added.
A spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group 2 told The Virginian-Pilot on Friday that the target had been removed and that the Navy "will explore other options for future training."
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Photo: Shutterstock.com, all rights reserved.
(H/T: Huffington Post)
