Tag Archives: Religion

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

Update: Chaplain Goetz Killed in Afghanistan

Updated with message from Army Chief of Chaplains.

As previously noted, US Army Chaplain (Capt) Dale Goetz was killed in Afghanistan earlier this week.  He evidently died fufilling his pastoral duties as a Chaplain, “fob-hopping” to support his “congregation” of military Soldiers:

Goetz was in a convoy traveling from one forward operating base to another, where he counseled soldiers.

MSNBC reports that he was the first Chaplain killed in combat since Vietnam, not unlike the story of Sgt Chris Stout, the Chaplain assistant killed in Afghanistan in July.  Notably, however, US Army Chaplain Tim Vakoc died in 2009, five years after being wounded in a similar set of circumstances: a roadside bomb on a return trip from ministering to troops.

The Army Chief of Chaplains released the following message:  Read more

Quaker Loses Challenge to Tax Support for Military

The government’s use of tax monies from its citizens is frequently an issue for debate, even on non-religious topics.  The discussion can become more significant when people question whether the government’s use of their money is “moral,” and if they should therefore not pay taxes.

In an interesting federal district court case, Moore-Backman v. United States, the complaint of Quaker Christopher Moore-Backman that his tax support of the military “burdens his religious exercise in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act” was dismissed.

As noted by Howard Friedman, the court’s conclusion was somewhat broadly stated:

The court concluded that there was no free exercise or RFRA violation because under relevant case law the Government is not required to conduct its own internal affairs in a way that comports with an individual’s religious beliefs.

Book Review: Highest Duty – My Search for What Really Matters

HarperCollins, 2009.

Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters is the autobiography of the now-celebrity pilot who landed American Airlines Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on 15 January 2009.  Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is both an Air Force Academy graduate and a former Air Force fighter pilot.

From the perspective of a pilot, Highest Duty is a fascinating read.  The book is well written, managing to string the 3 minute ordeal through 330 pages of Sullenberger’s life without becoming slow or overly tedious.  While his celebrity status was cemented by the ordeal, the book covers not only the emergency landing but also his life story.

One of the more intriguing parts of that “life story” has been the element of faith, but not for the reason most might expect.  Read more

US Army Chaplain Killed in Afghanistan

Reports indicate one of the four military members killed in a roadside bomb attack on Monday was Chaplain (Capt) Dale Goetz, US Army.  He was apparently deployed to Afghanistan from Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, CO.

“He had a great burden for the soldiers,” said Jason Parker, pastor of High Country Baptist Church of Colorado Springs. “His specific prayer request was to see 300 soldiers come to Christ. He was also praying for God to call 10 of those soldiers into the ministry. That was one of his specific prayer requests.

“God was using him. He was very actively witnessing. He didn’t want to be just a social worker. He wanted to see soldiers hear the Gospel and trust Christ.”

He is survived by his wife and three children.

Retired General Robert Magnus to speak at Jewish Center

When General Robert Magnus retired in 2008 after nearly 40 years of service, he was second in command of the US Marine Corps and the highest ranking Jewish member of the US military.

He was also a Naval aviator, though a transport helicopter pilot, so even he received a “callsign:”

The assignment prompted a friend to bestow on him a “call sign,” a nickname given to a military pilot as a substitute for the officer’s given name. “Fighter pilots and attack helicopter pilots all had call signs, but I was a transport helicopter pilot and we didn’t,” he explains. His friend insisted and Magnus became “Heeb,” short for “Hebrew.”

Think a callsign like that would last long in today’s politically correct environment?  Interestingly enough, it did last more than 30 years:  Read more

Marine Officer Defends Beach Baptism of Marines

The LA Times blog on the beach baptism of US Marines at Camp Pendleton generated an unusually high amount of vitriol toward religious exercise in the military.  There were also accusations of command influence and coercion.

A recent comment posted at the original blog attempts to rebut those accusations with the first public first-hand account of the event:

As a Marine Officer and the Public Affairs Officer who covered this event I would like to say that this amazing event was completely voluntary. In fact the event started with a hand-full of Marines who approached the chaplain to do it. As others heard about it they all got on board.  Read more

Chaplain: DADT Repeal will “Shred…Moral Fabric”

A recently retired Army Reserve Chaplain minced few words in criticizing the proposed repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”  Chaplain (Col) Alexander Webster (USA, Ret) said, among other things:

President Barack Obama’s initiative to rescind the “don’t ask, don’t tell” statute of 1993 will, if Congress yields to him later this year, shred the social and moral fabric of our armed forces…Fortunately for the nation and its military defense, many chaplains and their civilian faith group leaders are beginning, at last, to push back on the issue.

Webster cites the ADF letter from the Chaplains and the resolutions from Chaplain endorsers opposing repeal.

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