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HRES 420
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Unequivocally condemning the damaging rhetoric of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, United States Army, which has promoted hateful stereotypes of the religion of Islam.

Unequivocally condemning the damaging rhetoric of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, United States Army, which has promoted hateful stereotypes of the religion of Islam.

Introduced Oct 28, 2003

Latest action (Dec 10, 2003) Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Referred to
Judiciary Committee Antitrust (Full Committee Task Force) Subcommittee
Policy area
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Issues
Civil Rights

Summary

This resolution condemns the public remarks made by Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and War-Fighting Support, which characterized Islam negatively and promoted stereotypes about the religion and Muslims. Boykin made these remarks in public forums and while in uniform, casting the war on terrorism as a religious conflict between cultures. The resolution expresses that such incendiary rhetoric is inappropriate and could incite sectarian violence. The resolution reaffirms statements by President George W. Bush that Islam is a peaceful religion and that Muslims have made important contributions to the United States and the world.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
18 cosponsors

Actions (3)
  1. Dec 10, 2003 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution. · house
  2. Oct 28, 2003 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
  3. Oct 28, 2003 Introduced in House

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

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  • HRES 594 — Condemning the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. · Introduced Jul 17, 2025 · Cong. 119 50%
  • SRES 327 — A resolution condemning the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries and encouraging the President to prioritize the protection of persecuted Christians in United States foreign policy. · Introduced Jul 21, 2025 · Cong. 119 49%
  • HRES 69 — Celebrating Hindu Americans, condemning attacks on Hindu places of worship, Hinduphobia, and anti-Hindu bigotry, and for other purposes. · Introduced Jan 24, 2025 · Cong. 119 49%
  • HRES 130 — Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its harassment and efforts to intimidate American citizens and other individuals on United States soil with the goal of suppressing speech and narratives the People's Republic of China finds unwelcome. · Introduced Feb 13, 2025 · Cong. 119 48%

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 28, 2003

Mr. Hinchey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Unequivocally condemning the damaging rhetoric of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, United States Army, which has promoted hateful stereotypes of the religion of Islam.

Whereas Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, United States Army, who is currently serving as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and War-Fighting Support, has on several occasions made disparaging and hostile remarks toward Islam and Muslims in public forums and while in uniform; Whereas Lieutenant General Boykin has cast the current war against terrorism as a religious conflict between cultures; Whereas incendiary rhetoric of this nature can neither be excused nor rationalized; Whereas Lieutenant General Boykin’s remarks are disgraceful and could serve to incite further sectarian violence; Whereas the United States is a nation dedicated to religious tolerance and freedom; Whereas President George W. Bush, following a meeting with Muslim leaders in Indonesia on October 21, 2003, stated that Lieutenant General Boykin’s remarks “didn’t reflect my opinion” and “doesn’t reflect what the government thinks”; and Whereas on October 24, 2003, President Bush stated that “Islam is a peaceful religion, and people who practice the Islamic faith have made great contributions to our Nation and the world”: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) unequivocally condemns the damaging rhetoric of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, United States Army, which has promoted hateful stereotypes of the religion of Islam; and

(2) reaffirms the remarks made by President George W. Bush on October 24, 2003, that “Islam is a peaceful religion, and people who practice the Islamic faith have made great contributions to our Nation and the world”. <all>

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