Tag Archives: Islam

Mikey Weinstein Demands US Army Ban Evangelist Kenneth Copeland

UPDATE: Fort Jackson says “there are no plans to rescind the invitation,” as reported by MRFF-friendly Nina Burleigh at Newsweek. Fort Jackson said [emphasis added]:

The Prayer Breakfast is open to all community members, is entirely voluntary, and is cost free to the Army and attendees. Mr. Copeland’s participation in the prayer breakfast is not an endorsement by Fort Jackson of him or of any comments that he may present. Fort Jackson respects and protects all individual’s rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution, including ensuring access to religious services and events for those who wish to participate and protecting the rights of those who do not.

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has sent an email to Fort Jackson, SC, demanding the Army post disinvite Kenneth Copeland from their upcoming National Prayer Breakfast. Addressing MajGen John Johnson, Fort Jackson’s Commanding General, Weinstein wrote that Fort Jackson’s upcoming speaker:

is the universally despicable, discredited, fundamentalist Christian extremist/supremacist Kenneth Copeland. Do you know ANYthing of moment about this feckless, religious bully/provocateur, General Johnson?

Weinstein went on to call Copeland “disgusting,” “a miserable, fundamentalist Christian wretch,” a “divisive and corrosive individual/religious predator and bully” and “hideously reprehensible fundamentalist Christian charlatan cum exclusivist bigot.”

Clearly, Mikey Weinstein has a thing for Kenneth Copeland.

But other than his dripping vitriol and thesaurus-like list of adjectives of disdain for the prosperity gospel minister, Weinstein never Read more

US Christian Chaplain Advises Afghan Military Religious Leaders

An interesting US Air Force story describes how US Air Force Chaplain (Maj) Chris Conklin is acting as an advisor to the Afghan Air Force Religious and Cultural Affairs office, a rough equivalent to their chaplaincy:

Chaplain (Maj.) Chris Conklin is the first air advisor charged with assisting the Afghan military’s religious and cultural affairs program with the mission of effective religious care and spiritual readiness for those who defend their nation.

Interestingly, the article makes a point to say their discussions aren’t religious in nature: Read more

Bethesda Dedicates Interfaith Center

Naval Support Activity Bethesda recently dedicated an “interfaith” room to support the religious activities of the troops who spend time in the many organizations hosted in the local area:

Some of the programs planned for the Interfaith Center are Monday Mass Catholic worship, “Worship on Wednesdays” Protestant service, Buddhist Worship and prayers, Muslim daily prayers, and Bible study groups, among other uses.

US Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Roosevelt Brown, the chief chaplain at the local Belvoir Community Hospital, specifically praised the decision to call it an “interfaith” room: Read more

Update: Responses to Chaplain Hernandez and Military Religious Freedom

Chaplain Hernandez’s previously discussed column on military Christians and religious freedom continues to receive critiques — more accurately, criticism — from a wide variety of sources.

One of the more interesting responses came from Don Byrd of the Baptist Joint Committee, a left leaning advocacy group that tends to take a more atheistic view of religious liberty than most Baptists.

In a blog entitled “Air Force Chaplain is Wrong to Oppose Religious Liberty Rights for All,” Byrd began with a principled observation ignored by most [emphasis added]:

Capt. Hernandez is of course free to believe according to his conscience and faith…The controversial issue of salvation for non-Christians is a question of Christian theology, not public policy…

Personal theological beliefs do not disqualify an individual from public service.

Byrd then added a significant “however” [emphasis added]:  Read more

US Military Apologizes for Offending Afghan Muslims. Again.

The US military apparently conducted a leaflet drop in Afghanistan recently that offended just about everyone:

The leaflets dropped Monday night, which encouraged Afghans to cooperate with security forces, included an image of a dog carrying the Taliban flag, said Shah Wali Shahid, the deputy governor of Parwan province.

The problem, such that it is, is the Islamic verses of the Quran are venerated in Islam — and there are Islamic verses on the Taliban flag. Dogs are viewed as filthy.

So, despite the evil the Taliban represents, seeing a Taliban flag in the mouth of a dog is worse.

The Taliban subsequently Read more

Nelash Das Latest US Resident to Plot for ISIS

Bangladesh native and legal US resident Nelash Das is the latest to be accused of plotting an attack on the US military in support of ISIS:

Federal authorities accuse Das of supporting terrorist activity by planning to kill a member of the U.S. military who was also a special agent with the FBI, the government said…

The two men got as far as the fake address of the targeted soldier’s home before federal agents moved on him and arrested him.

Das makes 15 civilians — along with multiple US troops Read more

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