Despite his claim that he grew his beard for religious reasons, an Army appeals court has ruled US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, may be forcibly shaved to meet US Army grooming standards.
The court also ruled that Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge, properly found that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not give Hasan the right to have a beard while in uniform Read more
Col Gregory Gross, the judge presiding over the murder trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the Fort Hood massacre, followed through on his threat and issued an order that Hasan must shave — or he will be shaved.
Gross…issued his order Thursday after a hearing to determine whether a federal religious freedom law applied to Hasan’s case. Soldiers may be granted permission to grow beards for religious reasons, and six soldiers have been allowed to do so: a rabbi, two Muslim doctors and three Sikhs, according to Army records.
Hasan said he is violating regulations not out of disrespect, but of religious requirement:
Hasan told the judge last week that he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, not as a show of disrespect. Gross ruled Thursday that the defense didn’t prove Hasan is growing a beard for sincere religious reasons.
While the whole concept might sound a bit odd to outsiders, forced Read more
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s trial on charges he murdered 13 people and tried to kill 32 more in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 has been delayed — again — as the defense appeals the trial judge’s demand that Hasan be shaved — forcibly, if necessary.
Hasan has grown the beard in violation of Army regulations, and Gross has not allowed him to stay in the courtroom, saying the beard is a disruption. However, the judge said he wants Hasan in the room during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted. He said Hasan would be forcibly shaved at some point Read more
Accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — yes, he is still in the US Army — has been fined by his military judge for refusing to shave. Hasan is required to abide by military dress and personal appearance regulations, which generally prohibit beards. (As noted earlier, beards are also prohibited in the militaries of some predominantly Islamic countries.)
Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan’s attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith. Read more
Rabbi Menachem Stern previously sued the US Army for accepting him as a chaplain candidate — and then unaccepting him when they realized he intended to keep his beard.
The Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization that assists Jewish military personnel, Jewish inmates and their families, and Sens. Charles E. Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand and Joseph Lieberman sought to persuade top brass that the rabbi should be able to keep his beard.
As have many others, they cited Chaplain Goldstein Read more
As noted earlier this year, Rabbi Menachem Stern has been trying for some time to become a US military Chaplain, but has faced resistance over his orthodox appearance. He has apparently been unable to obtain a waiver for his beard.
He is now reportedly suing the Army for “denying him a commission” because of his religious tenets. His lawsuit specifically cites the recent waivers given to Sikhs — men who were not Chaplains — and a bearded Muslim intern Read more