Tag Archives: Islam

Soldier Tried to Join ISIS, but Only Christians are Threats

Last month, the Los Angeles Times (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) noted that an Illinois National Guard Soldier was arrested in the Chicago airport as he attempted to leave the country to join ISIS:

Hasan [Edmonds] told the [undercover] agent he had been a member of the U.S. Army National Guard for three years, and had converted to Islam at some point during that time, according to the criminal complaint.

…The cousins met with a second undercover FBI agent and discussed an assault on the base where Hasan Edmonds had been training, the complaint said.

The article notes this isn’t the first time a Read more

Jewish Troops Celebrate Passover in Afghanistan

Passover Seder in Afghanistan
US troops stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, were recently given the opportunity to celebrate Passover:

Deployed Jewish service members in Afghanistan continue to celebrate their traditions by observing holidays, adhering to dietary laws, and practicing their faith…

The celebration was led by a chaplain from nearby Bagram AB, Army Chaplain (Capt) Karyn Berger, is one of only two female Rabbis in the US Army.

The article notes that Navy LtCmdr Mahmoud Ahmed, who is Muslim, also attended the Jewish Seder.

The US military Read more

US Veterans Join Christian Militias in Fight against ISIS

While there has been plenty of coverage on foreigners leaving their home countries to join ISIS, somewhat less talked about has been those who have traveled to the region to join the fight against ISIS — some for religious reasons, some for reasons of simple justice, and some probably for their own reasons:

Saint Michael, the archangel of battle, is tattooed across the back of a U.S. army veteran who recently returned to Iraq and joined a Christian militia fighting Islamic State in what he sees as a biblical war between good and evil.

Brett, 28, carries the same thumb-worn pocket Bible he did whilst deployed to Iraq in 2006 – a picture of the Virgin Mary tucked inside its pages and his favourite verses highlighted.

“It’s very different,” he said, asked how the experiences compared. “Here I’m fighting for a people and for a faith, and the enemy is much bigger and more brutal.”

Further:

Matthew VanDyke says he is “stepping in where the international community failed.”

In a post on Twitter Thursday, the American said he has spent the last two months “helping to raise a Christian army” in Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.

“The international community does very little for Christians in the Middle East, so if they’re not going to do it, we’ll do it.”

FoxNews even led with a headline of “Onward Christian Soldiers” for a time.

The situation is probably Read more

Fort Hood Victims to Receive Purple Hearts. Finally.

Nearly 6 years after then-US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 14 and wounded more than 30 in the massacre at Fort Hood, those victims are finally to receive the medal awarded for being “wounded in action” against the enemy:

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that he has approved awarding the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to victims of a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas…

Hasan, motivated by his Islamic faith and reportedly Read more

Air Force “Reviews” Article after Mikey Weinstein Complains

Air Force Reserve Command is reviewing a public affairs news release after Michael “Mikey” Weinstein called it

a “shameless and incredibly prominent and public promotion” of religion…

The article is not unlike many that the Air Force produces highlighting the humanitarian or other off-duty activities of its Airmen. In this case, the story is about SMSgt Larry Gallo and his family, who dedicate their Christmas each year to providing “medical and spiritual aid” in other countries:

“Seven years ago my family and I started giving up our commercial Christmases to do something different, since then, we never looked back,” Gallo said. “These trips allow everyone to slow down and realize that some of the stress we put on ourselves is uncalled for once we put things in perspective.

“We have so much in the United States, and we are blessed as a nation. There is no guilt in being blessed. The guilt comes when we complain and grumble and take for granted the things we do have and not use those blessings to help others who are burdened.”

Read more

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran Fired for Religious Views

Update: Dr. Al Mohler makes the same argument as below, saying

We are now witnessing a direct and unavoidable collision between religious liberty with what is rightly defined as erotic liberty — a liberty claimed on the basis of sexual identity and activity. Religious liberty is officially recognized in the Bill of Rights — even in the very first amendment — and the framers of the American order did not claim to have established this right to free religious expression, but to have recognized it as a pre-existent right basic to citizenship.

Erotic liberty is new on the scene, but it is central to the moral project of modernity — a project that asserts erotic liberty, which the framers never imagined, as an even more fundamental liberty than freedom of religion.

FoxNews broke the story of Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was recently fired after he wrote a book on Biblical morality for his men’s group at church — which had a half-page on homosexuality some activists found offensive.

Despite the fact only the expression of his beliefs got him fired, Atlanta council member Alex Wan — who is homosexual — said he

support[ed] Cochran’s termination and said it “sends a strong message to employees about how much we value diversity and how we adhere to a non-discriminatory environment.”

So, a person who was not discriminating against anyone was discriminated against in order to provide a non-discriminatory environment?  One wonders if councilman Wan knows what the word “discrimination” really means.

Georgia Equality, a homosexual activist group, also Read more

CAIR Sues Navy over Religious Accommodation

Update: To answer one of the issues below, Berts has now said

He had practiced Islam throughout his Navy career, Berts said in a Jan. 7 phone interview, but had become more observant by early 2011.

“I celebrated Islamic holidays, I fasted during holidays, I prayed,” he said. “I started to get a deeper sense of faith and started to try to live my religion a bit more.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a lawsuit (PDF) against the US Navy on behalf of Jon Berts, a former Sailor who was denied a request for a beard for his religious faith. Ordinarily, this might fall under the auspices of the other religious accommodation issues that have arisen this year, but there are several aspects of Berts’ story that are slightly unusual:

Jonathan Berts of Fairfield applied to wear a beard in January 2011, but Defense Department policy did not allow religious exemptions from grooming requirements…

First, the policy citation isn’t entirely true. It is true that DoDI 1300.17 (more here) didn’t characterize grooming standards as “apparel,” but it was still possible to obtain a waiver for a beard — as other members of the military did.

Second, note the date: Berts was honorably discharged Read more

Chris Rodda Criticizes USAF Band Because ISIS

It didn’t take too long for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s research assistant, Chris Rodda, to pen a diatribe criticizing the US Air Force Band’s “flash mob” kick-off to the Christmas season. As is her typical style, she wrote an 800 word passive-aggressive narrative without ever really saying why she was writing it, other than a vague objection to “religiosity” on the part of the Air Force.

Near the end, though, she finally cut to the chase:

I’ll bet there are some Islamic extremists out there who are also being quite “inspired” by these viral videos of mobs of uniformed U.S. military personnel belting out lines like “Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King!,” “Joy to the world! the Savior reigns,” and “This, this is Christ the king!”

Way to go, U.S. Air Force Band!

Ah! So the MRFF thinks that if Islamic extremists will hate America Read more

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