William G. "Jerry" Boykin

Executive vice president of the Family Research Council

Boykin

"We need to realize that Islam itself is not just a religion - it is a totalitarian way of life. ... It should not be protected under the First Amendment, particularly given that those following the dictates of the Quran are under an obligation to destroy our Constitution and replace it with Sharia law." - Jerry Boykin

William G. "Jerry" Boykin

Executive vice president of the Family Research Council

Jerry Boykin is a conservative Christian activist who served as the U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2007. Boykin spent 36 years in the military, including 13 years in the Delta Force.

He has referred to the War on Terror as a battle against Satan and was one of Frank Gaffney’s co-authors and a team leader on his sensationalistic and misleading report “Sharia: The Threat to America.” 

In a June 2003 speech to a community church in Oregon, Boykin was recorded saying Islamic extremists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christians. ... And the enemy is a guy named Satan."  Boykin's remarks were denounced by civil rights organizations, commentators, and elected officials. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives co-sponsored H. RES. 419 in October 2003, "Condemning religiously intolerant remarks” and calling on President Obama to clearly “censure and reassign Lieutenant General Boykin," who at the time served as deputy assistant secretary for Intelligence at the Pentagon.

In March 2013, Boykin spoke at the 30th International Prophecy Conference, a gathering organized by Joe VanKoevering, pastor of Gateway Christian Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. VanKoevering also runs the website, God’s News Behind the News, which describes itself as a “prophecy resource for the world.” VanKoevering has suggested that the Antichrist will be Muslim, and will be the Mahdi, or the messiah of some Islamic theology.

The theme of the conference was “Israel, the Church, and the Last Days.” In Boykin’s presentation to the conference, he maintained that Israel is “the epicenter of everything we see unfolding in the world,” where “the last battle will be fought, where God will finally destroy his enemies. Life is about warfare.” The Book of Revelation, said Boykin, “gives such a vivid picture of Jesus Christ coming back riding a white horse in a blood-stained white robe, leading a mighty army to destroy his enemies.” Those enemies, according to Boykin, are Muslims. He maintained that Islam’s fundamental objective is to “establish this global caliphate, this superstate,” and “establish Sharia.” Islam’s other objective, according to Boykin, is to destroy Israel.