A teacher’s union and associated groups are coming out against the FBI campaign to counter radical ideology, saying that it could lead to the singling out of Muslims.
Various groups penned a letter to FBI Director James Comey, declaring that the website made them feel “deeply troubled,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
The website, called “Don’t Be A Puppet,” was advertised for use in schools to teach younger people how to avoid being tempted by radical extremist thought. The website urges students to divulge any suspicious behavior they see to teachers and law enforcement.
The groups, which encompass the American Association of School Administrators and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, wrote that they believed the website would cause people to view Muslims and Middle Eastern students in a negative light.
The website, introduced last year, functions as a game to teach teenagers how to identify and avoid “violent extremists.”
“The site emphasizes that by blindly accepting radical ideologies, teens are essentially becoming the “puppets” of violent extremists who simply want them to carry out their destructive mission—which often includes targeting or killing innocent people,” the FBI website explains.
Those who disagree with the website took issue with what the website calls warning signs of potential extremist actions. Some of the warning signs include “talking about traveling to places that sound suspicious” and “using code words or unusual language.”
“We know we need to be hyper-vigilant. But there’s a difference between being hyper-vigilant and engaging in racial profiling. This program, while probably well intended, shouldn’t go forward,” the American Federation of Teachers union President Randi Weingarten declared.
An FBI spokesman said that the agency knows about the worries of the groups and is working to “engage directly with the group’s leaders in the near future.”
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