A retired general with a history of making statements against Islam was canceled as a speaker at a West Point Military Academy prayer breakfast next month after protests from Muslim advocates and a liberal veterans group.
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, who in 2003 compared the War on Terror to a religious struggle against “Satan,” said he was withdrawing as a speaker from the prayer breakfast on Feb. 8, according to a statement released by West Point.
“Retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin has decided to withdraw speaking at West Point’s National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 8,” the statement said. “In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the U.S. Military Academy will feature another speaker for the event.”
The liberal veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org wrote a letter last week to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno protesting Boykin’s inclusion in the breakfast, saying his comments put troops in harms way because they “threaten our relationships with Muslims around the world.”
“To allow LTG Boykin to address the corps of cadets would be disrespectful to the Muslim cadets currently enrolled at West Point,” the group’s leaders wrote. “It would be a slap to the face to Muslim Americans who have served their country, not to mention those who gave the fullest sacrifice for their nation and their comrades.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations joined in the protest on Thursday, calling on West Point officials to retract the invitation to Boykin.
Boykin’s comments on Islam in 2003 drew a rebuke from then-President George W. Bush, who said the statements “didn't reflect my opinion.”
The Army took action against Boykin for his statements in 2004, but said it was “not significant.”
Boykin now helps run an evangelical group called Kingdom Warriors and is a visiting professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Va. He did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
