Army Instructor Ousted Over Muslim Groups' Complaints About 'Bigoted' Teachings on Radical Islam Fights Back

A highly decorated Army lieutenant colonel says he was essentially blacklisted by his superiors after more than 50 Muslim groups complained about a course he taught on radical Islam. Now he is fighting to get his career back.

As previously reported by TheBlaze, Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, a West Point graduate and decorated combat veteran, was an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College at the National Defense University, where he was reportedly popular among students and fellow staff members, FoxNews.com reports.

That all changed when Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, slammed Dooley and his "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism" course during a Pentagon press conference in May, calling his teachings unprofessional and "against our values."

He was later given a negative Officer Evaluation Report (OER), which was unusual given the fact that Dooley had passed the evaluations with flying colors the previous five years. Dooley says a bad OER is like being blacklisted in military circles.

“This was a very heavy-handed approach from the very top,” Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, told Fox News. His organization is now representing Dooley in the case. To read one of their latest press releases on the case, click here.

“He had a brilliant career ahead of him," Thompson added. "Now, he has been flagged…“They [superiors] ordered a negative evaluation. He will never have the opportunity for promotion unless this is overturned."

(To learn more about some of Dooley's course material, click here)

Attorneys at the Thomas More Law Center believe a letter sent to the White House, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies about a year ago and signed by 57 Islamic organizations caused the federal government to clamp down on Dooley, his course and ultimately all the government's training material on radical Islam. Among the organizations who signed the letter are the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), both named unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terrorism financing case in U.S. history.

Lawmakers and critics have alleged that the letter led to the massive purge of terms than Muslims might find "offensive" in government training materials, which Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) says threatens U.S. national security. The feds enlisted a number of "Islamic experts" to help with the purge, however, they have refused to reveal who they are despite numerous inquiries from Congress and members of the press.

The Washington Times explains some of the changes that occurred:

The FBI training manual changed. Nearly 900 pages of training that was considered offensive were deleted. Members like Congressman Allen West, Florida Republican, and Congressman Louie Gohmert, Texas Republican, were critical of the purge.

Gohmert questioned FBI director Robert Mueller in May 2012 about the deleting of FBI material. Rep. Gohmert went to the House floor and compared the number of times certain terms (at 22:40) were used in the 9/11 Commission report as opposed to the now purged FBI training manual. For example, according to Gohmert, the 9/11 report mentioned the word “Islam” 322 times. However, Gohmert discusses that the FBI training manual can no longer mention the terms: Islam, Muslim, jihad, enemy, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, caliphate, Shariah law.

“The people who were the hijackers the people who planned the attacks that hoped to have killed tens of thousands of Americans instead of three thousand those were Islamists…they believed in Islam. And thank God that they only represent a tiny percentage of Muslims around the world, but let’s be realistic. As one intelligence officer said, ‘we are blinding ourselves to being able to see who our enemy is.’”

Watch Gohmert's epic House floor speech on document purge and radical Islam back in February:

"Dooley is still serving in the military and not allowed to speak publicly on his case, according to Thompson. But the soldier is hoping to have his negative OER revised and be reinstated in his job as an instructor, according to Thompson, who maintains that the guidelines from the NDU Faculty Handbook were disregarded when Dooley was relieved of his position," according to FoxNews.com.

Here is the letter that reportedly led the massive purge of terms relating to radical Islam in government training materials:

US Islamic groups demand Islamophobia 'purge' in letter to White House