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NEWS: Muslim Army Chaplain Investigation September 26, 2003 Episode no. 704 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week704/news.html BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: A Muslim U.S. Army chaplain who served at the Guantanamo naval base prison camp remains in military detention. His arrest is said to be part of an espionage investigation, but no charges have been filed. The case has raised a number of questions -- most of them unanswered. Paul Miller has our report. PAUL MILLER: Bob, the widening investigation of security breaches at Guantanamo, amid suggestions of espionage, aid to Islamist extremists, or a possible prisoner breakout, became public after the detention of U.S. Army chaplain, Captain James Yee. James Joseph, or Youssef, Yee was raised a Lutheran in New Jersey but became a Muslim after graduating from West Point in 1990. After completing military service, he studied Islam and Arabic in Syria, then rejoined the army, becoming a chaplain in 2000. Last November, Chaplain Yee was assigned to Guantanamo Bay, where more than 650 Muslims are detained as enemy combatants suspected of ties to Al Qaeda or the Taliban. He was the Islamic advisor to the commander at the camp and had daily contact with the detainees. He counseled them, arranged for the call to prayer to be broadcast on loudspeakers in the camp, and tried to be sure their food met Islamic dietary laws. Captain JAMES YEE (U.S. Army Chaplain): I don't get into whether or not they are terrorists. That's not my job. My job is to look at each individual and assist them in any way that I can in order to improve their ability to worship, to perform the Islamic rites. MILLER: Friends and colleagues say Chaplain Yee may simply have provided humanitarian assistance to fellow Muslims, but in a maximum-security facility that alone might be a violation of the rules. The military says when Chaplain Yee left the camp September 10, he was improperly carrying diagrams of the base and papers relating to detainees and their interrogators. He is in the brig in Charleston, South Carolina. No charges have yet been filed. The military has 120 days to bring him to trial. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for the presumption of innocence and due process of law for Yee as well as for airman Ahmed Halabi, a translator at the prison camp accused of spying for Syria. Four other people are reportedly the subjects of an expanding investigation. And the government is now said to be investigating the backgrounds of all the military's 13 Muslim chaplains. Military chaplains we spoke with expressed shock at Captain Yee's detention. They also said they were worried that this will hurt the credibility of all military chaplains, especially other Muslims. ABERNETHY: Paul, how does the military screen all chaplains? MILLER: Bob, there is a definite procedure. As officers, they all have to undergo security background checks. They have to meet certain educational requirements. And they need the endorsement of recognized religious organizations, either through certification or training. The Pentagon has endorsed two such Muslim organizations. They are the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. But both of those organizations are now reported to be under investigation by both the FBI and the Pentagon. ABERNETHY: Paul, many thanks. |
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