American-Arab Organization Says Muslims are Facing Increased Threats in the United States After the Release of the Movie 'American Sniper'

US Muslims threatened after 'American Sniper'

January 24, 2015

AFP - Muslims are facing increased threats in the United States after the release of the movie "American Sniper," an American-Arab organization said in letters to director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper.

In the open letters released earlier this week, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said there has been a spike in violent threats against Muslims due to the film that portrays the story of an American sniper during the Iraq war.

"A majority of the violent threats we have seen over the past few days are (a) result of how Arab and Muslims are depicted in American Sniper," the ADC said.

The group said it had received hundreds of violent messages from viewers of the film, many of them through social media.

The ADC notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local police about the threats and asked the two Hollywood stars to condemn the violent rhetoric used by filmgoers.

"Your visibility, influence, and connection to the film would be a tremendous force in drawing attention to and lessening the serious dangers facing the respective communities," the letters signed by ADC president Samer Khalaf said.

The movie released this month is based on the true story of an American solider Chris Kyle deployed in Iraq.

The film has earned six Oscar nominations and sparked a debate in the US over the occupation of Iraq and the depiction of veterans in popular culture.

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'American Sniper' Chris Kyle Lied About Jesse Ventura, Among Other Things

Multiple scenes in the movie American Sniper portray Kyle as haunted by his service. One of the film’s earliest reviews praised it for showing the “emotional torment of so many military men and women.” But that torment is completely absent from the book the film is based on. In the book, Kyle writes, “The enemy are savages and despicably evil.” He adds, “I only wish I had killed more.” He also writes: “I loved what I did. I still do. If circumstances were different — if my family didn’t need me — I’d be back in a heartbeat. I’m not lying or exaggerating to say it was fun. I had the time of my life being a SEAL.” In his book, Kyle writes about being competitive with other snipers, and how when one in particular began to threaten his "legendary" number, Kyle "all of the sudden" seemed to have "every stinkin' bad guy in the city running across my scope." As in, wink wink, my luck suddenly changed when the sniper-race got close, get it? He also boasts that the unofficial Rules Of Engagement were pretty simple: “If you see anyone from about 16 to 65 and they’re male, shoot ‘em. Kill every male you see.” On an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show he laughs about accidentally shooting an Iraqi insurgent. He once told a military investigator that he doesn’t “shoot people with Korans. I’d like to, but I don’t.”