Posted on 10/07/2001 10:18:04 PM PDT by freedomnews
Its difficult time for Muslims in US army
Washington, October 7
The pipe organ in the small military chapel here at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre is silent. Instead, the sound of worship is a human voice calling, deep and clear, "Allahu Akbar".
The voice belongs to Capt. Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, who eight years ago became the first Muslim chaplain in the United States military. He is now chaplain at the military hospital here, where an ethnically diverse group of Muslim soldiers in fatigues and civilian Army doctors in white jackets knelt on rugs for Friday's communal prayers.
They find themselves in what they say is an awkward position: Muslim members of the American armed forces preparing to fight a war against terrorists who claim to represent Islam.
But Chaplain Muhammad sees no conflict between being a loyal soldier and a loyal Muslim and regards his mission as helping American Muslims think through the laws and teachings of their religion.
He delivered a sermon intended not only for the faithful in this small chapel but for Muslim leaders in the US and abroad who he contends have not done enough to condemn the extremists in their midst. While they have denounced the terrorism on American soil,
he said, many of them have condoned Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel, for example, or Saudi Arabia's persecution of worshippers of other faiths.
"The prophet said when we see evil action we are compelled to change it with our hand, challenge it with our tongue or at least hate it in our heart. If we cannot do that, we are not good Muslims," he said in his small chapel.
The military says it has about 4,000 Muslims in its ranks, most of them blacks but including Arab and Asian-Americans as well as white converts. But some Muslim veterans say there are at least twice that many because many Muslim recruits do not elect to put their religion on their enlistment papers out of concern that they will be ostracised.
In fact, they join a military that has become increasingly accommodating to Muslim recruits - providing prayer rooms on many bases, time off for Friday prayers and combat rations that comply with Islamic dietary restrictions.
Until 1993, the military had no Muslims among the 3,150 active duty chaplains - only Christians and Jews.
Now there are 14 Muslim chaplains - 8 in the Army, 3 in the Air Force, and 3 in the Navy, 2 of whom serve in the Marine Corps. The chaplains serve on bases in the United States and in Okinawa, Korea and Germany. At least three have been deployed in recent weeks.
Military officials said they would like to have more Muslim chaplains, but there is a shortage of candidates with the required education.
The New York Times
Now is the time for them to decide whose side they are on. If they support the Islamic Terrorists, or the Muslim side in a war with us, they need to be upfront and get out of the American military. If they don't, their comrades in arms will see to it that they are not around long.
"Chaplains of Islam they additionally incur a duty to act to protect the welfare and safety of all service members, their family members and citizens of the USA."
Military personnel with knowledge or information that danger may exist or an individual has motivation to act in a manner which might endanger or result in the death of Americans can be held liable for withholding this information.
I'm sure a True American who practices Islam now understands that silence or failure to bring Islamic/Moslum terrorists/freedom fighters under control has led to this situaiton where their Religion is frequently equated to Terrorism. Christanity went into this madness but has cleaned itself up in the past few centry's, of course with the exception of the Catholic Priests who forment Communism Revolution in Africa and South/Central America....
We have wanted to see Muslim "clerics" get behind the bandwagon, and this guy here certainly has! Why am I not surprised that it comes from the US Military?
It is even a more difficult time for Muslims in Taliban army.
Muslims can dedicate their lives to the faith with no promise of an eternal life with God --with one very significant Koranic exception and that is to die in the act of waging holy war.
That certainly would explian why Islamic terrorists perpetrate their acts of war against easy targets that can offer no resistance, since the only objective is to kill a few non-believers and one's self as well.
Ann Coulter was more right than she knew. It will take mass conversions to free the Muslims from their collective despair.
I don't know if they are not the same, or the Muslim faith is simply corrupted. I know that I am not buying the hype that the Muslim faith is a peaceful one.
Confirming. I wonder if anyone's told Prof. Oprah or CNN's department of comparative religion? ;^)
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