WASHINGTON – Scott Simpson, public advocacy director for Muslim Advocates, issued the following statement on the pending nomination of Tennessee State Senator Mark Green for Secretary of the Army. Green has a deplorable record of stereotyping and trafficking in harmful rhetoric against Muslims and the LGBT community and a troubling friendliness to anti-Muslim propaganda:

“You can’t lead a diverse army while having contempt for diversity. Our armed forces are filled with patriotic Americans of all faiths, races, sexual orientations and gender identities, and Mark Green’s naked bigotry disqualifies him for the job of Army Secretary.

According to Green, Iraqi ‘high value targets’ he encountered while on tour smelled like ‘curry mixed with sweat.’ When teaching about religion in public schools, he thinks that Islam should be excluded except when referring to a ‘Muslim horde’ and ‘the assault of Islam’ during the Ottoman Empire.  Green also trafficks in troubling conspiracy theories, referring to President Obama as ‘B Hussein Obama’ and citing anti-Muslim propaganda throughout his book.

This is not a man equipped to lead a 21st Century army that looks like America. His anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT bigotry has no place in any Senate-confirmed position. The Senate Armed Services Committee should immediately reject this nomination.”

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.