The Jewish Daily Forward notes that Jewish American military members are able to celebrate their religious holidays even while deployed to a combat zone — in a country with an official Islamic constitution, no less.
Rabbi Jacob Goldstein will lead Yom Kippur services this year dressed not in the black fedora of his Lubavitch Hasidic sect, but in full battle gear at a Combat Operating Base in eastern Afghanistan. Read more
The Commandant of Cadets at the US Air Force Academy, BrigGen Richard Clark, reportedly distributed a memorandum to all USAFA cadets on Wednesday. He included the memorandum from the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz, as an attachment.
As predicted, Michael Weinstein claimed victory.
Of course, Weinstein is claiming “victory” about something over which he had neither control nor influence. In fact, his demands were completely ignored. To wit, Weinstein said:
MRFF has twice demanded that Gould so [sic] distribute this directive…to all Academy personnel, staff, cadets and government contractors…
For the record, an assessment: Read more
Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts after he acquired the weapons and means to conduct a terrorist attack against the Pentagon. The materials were purchased from/delivered by undercover US government agents.
A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol by attacking the buildings with large, remote-controlled aircraft armed with lethal amounts of explosives.
Interestingly, mainstream articles on Ferdaus fail to mention his religion — even though Ferdaus himself claimed to be motivated by it. In fact, one article even went so far as to publicize the DA’s warning that Read more
The Colorado Springs Gazette, local to the US Air Force Academy, noted that religious freedom critic Michael Weinstein apparently bought a billboard ad to publish Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz’s memorandum on religious neutrality, which Chris Rodda says USAFA is “withholding.”
Air Force Academy critic Mikey Weinstein, miffed that a four-star’s memo on religious respect wasn’t e-mailed to cadets at the Air Force Academy, published the 200-word memo himself Tuesday on a Colorado Springs billboard.
Weinstein is apparently relegated to billboards because USAFA won’t answer his voluminous emails or return his phone calls. Publicly, he claims he billboarded the memo because General Gould wouldn’t give in to his demands: Read more
Michael Weinstein and his associates in his self-founded “charity” have a history of being unable to defend an argument by relying on simple truth. Instead, their accusations have to be dramatized with hyperbolic language or, in some cases, the facts simply need to be misrepresented.
And Chris Rodda, Weinstein’s researcher, has done it again. And again, apparently.
Weinstein and Rodda have recently been trying to make hay out of General Norton Schwartz’s recent memorandum on “religious neutrality.” Naturally, they imply it was their eloquent arguments (and senior-leader influence) that convinced General Schwartz to issue the memo. That’s not enough glory, however.
The accusation that US Air Force Academy Superintendent Read more
On September 15th, former US Marine Sergeant Dakota Meyer was presented the Medal of Honor for his actions in a pitched battle in Afghanistan.
There has been a frequently mentioned, though just as frequently passed over, detail to Meyer’s story (emphasis added):
Former Marine Corps Cpl. Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor…for disregarding orders in Afghanistan. [1]
President Obama…bestowed the nation’s highest military honor on Dakota Meyer, a young and humble Marine who defied orders… [2]
Defying orders, Meyer drove into a firestorm Read more
A variety of previous articles have covered the celebration and recognition of Ramadan by the US military in Afghanistan. A recent article noted the same, with an interesting comment from one of the participating Afghans.
“I am very happy to have shared tonight with [American soldiers],” said Haji Tor Jan, local leader and organizer of villages surrounding [US Camp Nathan Smith.] “I know it is not your celebration but we are grateful to share it with you…”
“We have a bond together and if it’s your Christmas we will do the same celebration for you guys; we will bring you food, music and everything,” Tor Jan said.
Now that would be kind of interesting.
According to an international paper called, interestingly enough, The Hindu, Dawat-e-Islami has attracted the attention of the Pakistani military after a policeman apparently from that group was accused of assassinating a governor. As a result, the military has
decided to curtail the activities of a proselytising organisation in their ranks after intelligence reports warned that its growing influence in the armed forces would have serious implications.
Dawat-e-Islami, which literally means “invitation to Islam,” claims Read more