US Homeland Security official resigns over derogatory remarks

Washington, Nov 17 (IANS) An official from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has resigned after a disclosure revealed that he had made derogatory statements in the past about the black community and Islam, the media reported.

Rev. Jamie Johnson, who was appointed the head of the DHS's Centre for Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships in April, made the remarks in a radio talk show in 2008.

The comments resurfaced on Thursday after CNN published a report about them with audio snippets.

Johnson had said the black community was responsible for turning major US cities into "slums" and argued that Islam's only contribution to society was "oil and dead bodies".

The former official had praised the economic successes of American Jews and said "it's an indictment of America's black community that has turned America's major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity".

He also spoke harshly of Muslims, saying radical Islam was "faithful Islam".

"I never call it radical Islam, if anything, it is obedient Islam. It is faithful Islam."

Prior to his resignation, Johnson apologised for his comments, telling CNN earlier on Thursday: "I regret the manner in which those thoughts were expressed in the past, but can say unequivocally that they do not represent my views personally or professionally."

DHS Press secretary Tyler Houlton confirmed Johnson's resignation, saying: "Acting Secretary Duke has accepted Rev. Jamie Johnson's resignation as Director of the Centre for Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships at DHS.

"His comments made prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security clearly do not reflect the values of DHS and the administration. The Department thanks him for his recent work assisting disaster victims and the interfaith community."

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)