US Department of Defense Honors Muslim Faith
The Pentagon recently hosted its annual iftar, the traditional breaking of the Ramadan fast by Muslims. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work noted the event allowed the Department of Defense to “honor” the Muslim faith:
In addition to recognizing and honoring the Muslim faith, tonight is also an opportunity to celebrate the importance of diversity and equality within the Department of Defense, and the values that make our Department strong – integrity, courage, dedication and respect.
Presumably, in the spirit of diversity, the DoD similarly honors the values of integrity, courage, etc, in the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and other religious faiths. To date, however, there do not appear to be any similar public Department of Defense statements about other religions.
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Oh JD…the backwardness of this is astonishing! Can you please direct me to where the Pentagon has hosted an Easter dinner, or a Passover Seder? This is beyond making chaplains available on military bases for ensuring the religious rights of our service members…this is the Pentagon actually celebrating a specific religious holiday. Why? Why is this okay and yet Chris Rodda has a conniption (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/the-camp-pendleton-cross-_b_1124251.html) because a Sgt. Maj. quoted a historical person (Apostle Paul) during a memorial speech? What if he had quoted the Dalai Lama, or Buddha, or Anton Levay? A speech that referenced neither Jesus, nor God, but used a biblical passage as an illustration of an attitude and a call to service…and that is worthy of a hissy fit, while a Ramadan dinner is not?
I am continually awed by the level of hate spewed against Christians and the absolute intolerance, all while demanding the same. Perhaps the term “hypocrite” should be defined for our “religious freedom” fighting friends (while frequently used in scripture, it applies here), and I’m reminded of a beautiful scripture about a plank and a splinter…
Thanks for this website JD! Keep fighting the good fight…and from a grateful citizen, patriot, and Christian sister – thank you for your service (both to our nation, and to our God!).
As a side note, why is there not an outcry about the hypocrisy of “honoring” the Muslim faith while banning the display of a creche or menorah during the holidays?
If you see a lot of comments from me over the coming month – I’m doing research for a legal article about the military and Christian discrimination, and the more I read, the more my brain wants to explode. Your site has been a gold mine for my research and I alternate between being grateful your site exists and being livid that there is so much to report!