Tag Archives: Islam

US Military Participates in Muslim Celebrations

An official Army press release notes that senior members of the American military participated in Islamic Iftars in Iraq, sharing meals that broke the Ramadan fast with Iraqi locals and military servicemembers.  Leaders described the meals as an opportunity to display unity, understanding, and respect for Islam:

LtCol Mark Olds, the planner for one of the Iftars on Basra, said the dinners were an opportunity for US forces to show their unity with Iraq.

“We wanted to show our understanding and respect of Muslim traditions and practices by hosting an Iftar dinner for our Iraqi partners Read more

US Navy Supports Ramadan, Official Hajj

According to a Navy release, Muslim Sailors aboard the USS Harry S Truman were able to celebrate the end of Ramadan while on their cruise.  The US Navy followed standard policies on religious accommodation, and provided meals especially for the observant Sailors, as described by the Truman‘s Chaplain:

“Whatever a person’s religious background, the Navy’s policy is to accommodate that person’s religious needs,” said Cmdr. Jerome Hinson…”We are able to arrange meals for them before sunrise and after sunset. Depending on their work schedules, we accommodate their needs as much as we can.”

The Sailors themselves spoke positively about the Navy’s support of their religious Read more

Koran Burning: Copy Cats, Hypocrisy, and Replacement Texts

According to Military.com, the small, controversial Westboro Baptist Church has joined the criticism of the planned Koran burnings in Florida, but not for the reason everyone else is.  Their reason?

They did it first.  And no one noticed.

It’s that in 2008 she and her father’s Topeka flock set fire to a Quran in plain view on a Washington, D.C., street and nobody seemed to care…

Westboro has even said if Jones doesn’t burn the Koran, they will.  Elsewhere, there is an increasing chorus of “hypocrisy” accusations against US officials.  The US government previously said it burned Bibles in Afghanistan; even at that time, there was a sense that

“if it had been the Quran, this never would have happened.”

Other news agencies picked up on the “unusual” Read more

General Petraeus Condemns Proposed Koran Burning

According to press reports, General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has said the proposed burning of Korans in Florida would endanger US troops:

“Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence,” Petraeus said. “Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”

While the General is speaking within his purview — the mission and the troops — it is fairly unusual for a military officer to so pointedly address the lawful exercise of an American citizen’s protected rights.  The White House also reportedly “condemned” the plans:  Read more

Clinton to Host Iftar, US Army Celebrates Yom Kippur

According to a State Department press release, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host an Iftar on September 7th.  The meal breaks the Islamic day-long fast that is continuous for the month of Ramadan.  The US Army has also supported Iftars in Iraq.

Meanwhile, separate official Army press releases, complete with graphic banners, announce the upcoming Jewish celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  The articles explain the meaning behind the holy days.

Religious freedom in America, and its military, at work.

Islamic Group Calls Muslim Army Soldier “Traitor”

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) has called on the US Army to deny PFC Naser Abdo’s application for status as a Conscientious Objector (previously discussed).

“Muslims serve with distinction throughout the United States Military and AIFD sees Abdo’s traitorous public assertions as a slap in the face to all American Muslims especially those Muslims who fight in our armed forces for the liberty and freedom guaranteed by the American Constitution,” the group said in a statement it issued on Friday.

The group’s president, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser (a former Navy officer), went one step further, saying the root of Abdo’s dissension with the US military was not Islam, but the very “Islamism that threatens our security:”

Abdo’s actions are an affront to every American Muslim who has proudly donned a U.S. military uniform. His assertions are not built on Islamic teachings but on a feeble adherence to the global political ideology of Islamism that threatens our security and radicalizes our Muslim youth.

The statement by the AIFD has a scathing rebuttal to Abdo’s claim Read more

Muslim Soldier Claims Conscientious Objector Status

According to the Associated Press, US Army PFC Naser Abdo joined the Army last year but has since decided that his faith will not allow him to fight.

Abdo said when he joined the Army more than a year ago, he initially felt he could be a soldier and a Muslim at the same time. But he said he now believes Islamic standards would prohibit his service in the U.S. Army in any war.

According to documents provided to The Associated Press, Abdo cited Islamic scholars and verses from the Quran as reasons for his decision to ask for separation from the Army.

“I realized through further reflection that God did not give legitimacy to the war in Afghanistan, Iraq or any war the U.S. Army would conceivably participate in,” he wrote.

Abdo, for whom a “free Naser Abdo” website has been created, faces a similar problem as others who have thought about claiming CO status.  In order to be a CO Read more

The Ground Zero Mosque and the Pentagon Chapel

In response to the controversy over the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York City, a spate of articles has taken to highlighting the “non-controversy” over Islamic prayers occurring in the Pentagon Chapel, just feet from the impact point of one of the other airliners hijacked in 2001:

The Pentagon chapel is part of a memorial to the 184 people killed in 2001 when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 flew into the west side of the Pentagon and plowed through three of the building’s five office rings.

As part of its massive renovation, the Pentagon opened the nondenominational chapel in November 2002. The chapel hosts a daily prayer group and weekly worship service for Muslims, and provides similar services for Jews, Hindus, Mormons, Protestants, Catholics and Episcopalians.  Read more

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