The past month has seen a wide variety of articles from the US military showcasing its support of religious freedom — specifically, the accommodation of US military members celebrating Ramadan.  Other articles have highlighted the US military’s “respect” for the Islamic holy month.

In Iraq, for example, an article describes the tenets of the Islamic faith and notes US General officers have been hosting nightly iftars, including General Lloyd Austin, commanding General of US Forces in Iraq:

To celebrate this very special religious month, various U.S. general officers have been hosting a post-dusk meal called an iftar…Iftar dinners are being hosted around the country as a way of showing support and appreciation to their Iraqi counterparts.

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III [said] “It’s all the more enjoyable when we can break bread together – especially while celebrating such an important aspect of Iraqi culture.”

And LtGen Frank Helmick, deputy commanding General for operations:

“This is about respect for beliefs…This allows us to gain an understanding of, and to gain an appreciation for, the Muslim religion…It is out of respect for the people of Iraq that we celebrate Ramadan with them.”

Islamic US Soldiers have also expressed their gratitude for the support of the US military in their celebration of their faith:

During Ramadan, Muslim Soldiers had the option to change their work schedules from day to night.

“We have a lot of support from our units and the people who we work with,” said Spc. Bashar Ameen…. “Without the unit, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“(My leadership) supported me and made me feel like I could do it,” Ameen said. “You feel them there, always trying to protect you.”
 
[The General’s cultural advisor Alaa] Abdelazim said he has never seen such a high level of support like what the leadership of the 4th Inf. Div. provided during Ramadan.
 
“Helping us to perform not only our jobs, but even our beliefs, it gives (me) a big sense of happiness, and gives us the morale we need to perform our jobs,” said Abdelazim.

The US military also used the opportunity to try to build bridges with local Muslims, most notably by highlighting US military Islamic Chaplains.  US Navy Chaplain (Lt) Asif Balbale spent the month of Ramadan traveling Afghanistan and meeting with local mullahs.  Chaplain Balbale noted his visits were

for them to be able to see the diversity we have in the U.S. Armed Forces. Just for them to see an Imam in the U.S. Armed Forces is a shock value for them. They had never imagined that is even possible.

It’s a statement of some kind when the US military has been in a country for nearly a decade and they culturally still don’t understand the US concepts of religious freedom.  A DoD Live blog has a short video of Chaplain Balbale; the text intro inaccurately implies the presence of wiccan Chaplains in the US military.

As Ramadan came to a close in Afghanistan, US Soldiers led by Chaplain (Capt) John Smith teamed with the Afghan National Army to execute Operation Zakat.  Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, and is roughly comparable to charity or the Christian tithe.  (While the local Muslims probably understood, the overt religious meaning of the word makes it a surprising choice for a US military endeavor.)

Given the name, though, the operation was understandably aimed at serving those in need by donating

rice, cooking oil, tea, potatoes, tomatoes, flour, sugar, school supplies and toys to destitute families within the province.