Washington — An American Muslim group applauded the U.S. Justice Department’s announcement on August 9 that it is suspending without pay a Secret Service agent for writing anti-Muslim statements on a prayer calendar during a house search.

"We are pleased that authorities took such swift action in both investigating this incident and in dealing with the agent involved," said a news release quoting Hodan Hassan, communications coordinator at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "We hope this sends a signal to the law enforcement community that such bigoted behaviour will not be tolerated," she added.

The agent wrote the words "Islam is Evil" and "Christ is King" on a prayer calendar on July 18 during a search by the Secret Service and the FBI of the house of an Arab-American in Dearborn, Michigan. The person targeted in the search is accused of allegedly smuggling $12 million of counterfeit checks into the United States.

CAIR, a Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, wrote a letter on July 22 to Attorney General John Ashcroft requesting an investigation of the incident.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jeffery Collins said that in addition to facing sanctions, the Secret Service agent was suspended for six months without pay, a financial loss of $40,000.

"This unprofessional conduct by a single agent is a gross aberration and a great embarrassment... This act does not represent the professional and courageous efforts and the overwhelming ability of federal agents and local law enforcement officers who continue in challenging times to do a superb job," Collins said.

In a letter sent to Ashcroft, the American Muslim Council (AMC) Executive Director Eric Erfan Vickers called for stricter punishment for bigotry by government officials involved in investigating terrorism charges.

Vickers asked Ashcroft to enforce "a zero tolerance policy for any discriminatory act."

The agent, who was not identified, has written a letter of apology to the Arab-American family, and will be transferred out of the Eastern District of Michigan, the Associated Press reported.