Posted on 06/29/2014 2:13:24 AM PDT by markomalley
Its an Obama world.
The US Air Force kicked Christian Gideons volunteers off base in March.
The Bibles were too offensive and violated the separation of church and state rule.
But US military personnel are expected to adhere Islamic practices during Ramadan.
Stars and Stripes reported:
U.S. personnel accustomed to drinking their coffee on the drive to work will have to put that habit on hold for about a month. Its one of a few lifestyle changes Americans will have to make during the holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Officials expect Ramadan to begin at sunrise on Saturday, depending on when the new moon is sighted. The holy month lasts for approximately 30 days until about July 28. For Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month of fasting and devotion to God. Most Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, when families gather for Iftar the meal that breaks the fast.
For the 8,200 U.S. personnel living here, and those serving throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility including servicemembers, civilian personnel, contractors and family members the month may require changing some daily routines.
Businesses and government offices will reduce hours and most restaurants will be closed during daylight hours.
While not required to fast during Ramadan, in Bahrain, Americans can be fined or detained by local authorities for eating, drinking or smoking in public when off-base during daylight hours.
Navy officials are requiring U.S. personnel to dress more conservatively off-base during Ramadan. Although not a requirement by Bahraini authorities, the Navy is demanding that men wear long-sleeved shirts and women wear sleeved blouses that cover their elbows. Also, men must wear long trousers, and women should wear pants or skirts that cover the knees.
For those of you who haven’t served in the Military, it is part of custom and law under the UCMJ that when serving in a foreign country, you are constrained by the national and local laws wherein you are stationed.
Same is true when serving here in the states...you are subject to all laws of the state and municipalities in which you are serving, both on and off base.
And a little common sense goes a long way...We don’t need or want to be upsetting the locals when we are invited or allowed to be there as part of strategic alliances. When in Rome....
US soldiers werent garrisoned in Germany prior to WWII. US embassy staff and nationals in Germany prior to WWII were still subject to the laws of Germany, Nazi party or no.
Nobody is forcing this on soldiers when they are on base. These are guidelines when service personnel are going off base amongst the general civilian population. Its just common courtesy.
Did we rebuild Nazi Germany afterwards, with the same philosophy?
No, we did not.
And once war was on?
All bets were off.
Your point is actually invalid.
What we SHOULD have done is tell them, “You don’t like the Taliban? Here’s the price, you want us to tolerate your religion, you tolerate our boys. Otherwise, we feed you to the wolves.”
And in WWII Germany, nobody forced anyone to conform to Nazi style neopaganism off post.
Why, because it was BS.
When I was young, naieve, and stupid I used to think Allah was the same god as Yahweh. Boy was I ever wrong.
They are both the same Old Testament God; the difference is the interpretations/messengers. As a Christian I have the same Old Testament God as Jews; they just have a different interpretation of what He was saying. Both Jews and Muslims feel bound by dietary restrictions from the Old Testament that Christians dont abide by. Mohammed simply read the Old Testament centuries later and invented Islam from it.
My disernment tells me they are not the same god. The differences and messages are far too significant for them to have come from the same source taking misinterpretations into account.
“They are both the same Old Testament God; the difference is the interpretations/messengers”
No they are not.
Allah is capable of lying, the quran says as much.
Allah even boasts about that fact.
Allah speaks abusively against Jews and Christians.
that’s why I said ‘basic tenets’. not speaking against your superiors is understandable. but being forced to live the religious life of another’s religion is something different
Nope. Allah was a pagan deinty.
when you can’t have your own religion’s book in country it is far beyond common courtesy.
They are both the same Old Testament God; the difference is the interpretations/messengers
^ Just to be clear that’s not my belief; that’s the quote I copied from another FR’per that I responded to
Okers.
As one who served 10 years overseas, you're absolutely correct.
Troops in Muslim countries being briefed about Ramadan requirements is not, in of itself, controversial. Combine that with the military's modern-day phobia of Christianity...then it becomes of interest.
At least IMHO.
I wasn’t dodging. I was being factual. Try it sometime. This is the right thing to do for the military. I applaud the action of these heroes. They should follow the guidance of the host country. Sorry....join and maybe you might learn something.
Fact is: we didn’t rebuild WWII Germany as a fascist hellhole steeped in neopaganism.
And our soldiers weren’t expected to participate.
Yeah, the anti-Christian thing really bothers me.
I understand the dress codes, but making military conform to what they can eat or when they can eat or drink? It seems a bit of a stretch.
But you can. There is no restriction on owning a bible on the base.
these are countries that confiscate bibles when you enter the country. saudi arabia’and the whole lot of them, they will take them even if you try entering with em.
the article just said too that they got rid of the gideons and their bibles on base. in the same section you are saying that they only were talking about “on base” issues.
I dont see how they can ban bibles on the base. How would the military chaplains function?
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