God and Country

While the story seems more attributable to alcohol than religion, a veteran US Marine has admitted to setting fire to a Toledo mosque in response to attacks on the US military in Afghanistan:

Randy Linn pleaded guilty to hate crime charges, saying he’d become enraged after seeing images of wounded soldiers in the news.
 
“Every day you turn on the TV, you see Muslims trying to kill Read more…

Omid Safi, a Professor of Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, took issue with a recent story about Navy SEAL training and the realistic mock-ups they use — which included mosques and paper targets of hijab-wearing women.  From Read more…

A rebuilt mosque in Afghanistan is now the “centerpiece of the local government” — with the aid of the US Marines.

Marine Capt. Jesse Hills…was the project manager for the refurbishment. He was responsible for finding out what exactly was needed to repair the mosque: the time and resources Read more…

Reuters reported last week that Afghanistan wants NATO to put the “Koran burners” on trial — and Afghanistan reportedly claimed NATO had agreed to a trial, though Reuters qualified the statement as not “immediately verified.”

“NATO officials, in response to a request for the trial and punishment of the perpetrators…promised this crime will brought to court as soon as possible,” Karzai’s office said in a statement.

While it is unlikely NATO actually made such a concession — NATO has already said the burning was “inadvertent” and there is no crime against burning Korans in the Western world — the confusion may be understandable. Even President Obama’s Read more…

In response to an inquiry, Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation expressed his support for what has been dubbed the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York City.  Notably, he criticized those who oppose the mosque/community center because…their criticism offends “jihadists.”  Interestingly, Weinstein did not reserve his invective purely for Christians:

This [opposition to the mosque] is the work of fundamentalist Christians and ultra-extreme, rightwing Jews.

Apparently, the man who believes Christians are planning to exterminate Jews believes “rightwing Jews” are now helping them.  The cognitive dissonance continues below.

For those keeping track:  Read more…

The recent controversy surrounding the proposed mosque in New York City, including the taxpayer funded trip of the mosque’s imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has continued to highlight official government support for Islam around the world.  A recent article at the Baptist Press notes the use of “taxpayer money” to advance the cause of Islam, even in Afghanistan and Iraq:

“Americans also may be surprised to learn that the United States has been an active participant in mosque construction projects overseas,” The [Washington] Times said.

The US military’s assistance in mosque rebuilding and refurbishment has been discussed here before.

The US military notes its continuing efforts to use money and cultural support for Afghans to normalize their lives and their country.  As noted previously, the US military has direct access to government funds to “meet emergency needs of civilians in support of humanitarian operations.”

The article notes that one intentional recipient of such US government funds has been mosques, both in Afghanistan and Iraq.  As noted by a unit Chaplain, Chaplain (Capt) Abraham Sarmiento:

The next project brought buckets of paint, brushes and rolls of carpet in an effort to refurbish two mosques that were still in disrepair from the Soviet occupation.  Read more…