Military confirms Muslim chaplain had secret papers

Washington Times ^ | September 21, 2003 | Steve Miller

[sarcasm]

Military officials yesterday confirmed that a Muslim chaplain who was counseling al Qaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base has been detained since Sept. 10 after being found in possession of classified documents.

The Washington Times first reported yesterday that Army Capt. James. J. Yee is being held at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., charged with sedition, espionage, aiding the enemy, spying and failing to obey a general order.

[Straight Vermonter]

"Islam, what is there to fear?"- James J. Yee

September 11th, the pending war on Iraq, and our own day to day experiences of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo mission have all contributed to the picture many of us as Americans have painted about Islam and Muslims. And now, this universal religion of more than one billion followers worldwide is scrutinized by a population that has little knowledge of its basic tenets and practices. It is with a fearful eye that Islam and its worshippers are now being examined with the notion that they have become our nation's greatest enemy. However, a truly objective look makes it quite clear that Islam is really nothing to be afraid of at all. The meaning of the word Islam is "submission'' and "peace."

For a Muslim, the goal of attaining inner peace is achieved as one strives towards "submitting" oneself completely to God. Six articles of faith and the five pillars of Islam begin the process of transforming a mere physiological heart into a spiritual one. The six articles of the Islamic faith indicate what a Muslim believes. They consist of belief in: 1) One God - The Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Merciful, the Sole-Creator of all that exist; 2) The Angels - created by God to carry out various functions in service to Him, e.g., The Angel Gabriel's role was to bring divine revelation down to the Prophets; 3) The Divine Books - to include the Scrolls of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels and the Qur'an; 4) The Messengers of God - to include Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad; 5) The Last Day - being raise before God to account for one's belief and actions; 6) The Divine Decree - meaning all things happen according to His decision and not without His permission.

The five pillars of Islam which Muslims perform are: 1) Openly declare their belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad; 2) Prayer five times a day; 3) Give charity to the poor; 4) Fast during the month of Ramadan; and 5) Make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city of Islam, at least once if able to do so.

This is Islam in the mainstream, and looking a bit deeper into the core of its values, one finds a religion that affirms God's justice and insists on man's moral responsibility. However, it's a shame that every group is plagued with a small minority that falls prey to the pitfalls of following its own interpretations and agendas; and thus darkening the reputation for the majority. Yes, another terrorist attack or the possibility of hidden Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are enough to strike fear in the American people. But in reality, the majority of Muslims around the world from Indonesia to America are God-loving people. So why has it been so difficult for most in our society to distinguish these millions from the extreme fanatical minority? Why are we still afraid of Islam, the religion? Answer: lack of knowledge and unfamiliarity with Islam and Muslims. In most cases, people have limited personal experiences with Muslims and know Islam only through references made towards Muslim extremism.

The strength of the nation we defend is our diversity, but not knowing each other only creates an obstacle keeping us from really coming together as one cohesive force. A verse from the Holy Qur'an reads: "O Mankind! … (God) has created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know and learn from one another. Verily the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous." Practically speaking, this is as easy as smiling, and saying, "Hi, my name is ... " to a fellow JTF member who is Muslim. With almost certainty, your response will also be met with a smile and the words, "Hi, it's nice to meet you..."

[jaykay]

"Capt. Yee said that Muslims on his base have come to him with worries about being ordered to fight Muslims overseas."
    "Fort Lewis is also the base where D.C. sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad served during his military service."
  "The U.S. military named the first Muslim chaplain in 1993 after the Army said there were enough Islamic soldiers to warrant the appointment.
    The Pentagon today estimates there are about 4,000 practicing Muslims in uniform. The American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council, which did not return several e-mails yesterday, places the number around 10,000.
    Several Muslims in the military have been accused in the past of putting their religion before their duty.
    Army Sgt. Asan Akbar is accused in the March 23 attack on his fellow soldiers in Kuwait. Fifteen soldiers were wounded, two of them fatally.
    He is awaiting a general court-martial trial.
    Ali A. Mohamed, a former U.S. Army sergeant who served from 1986 to 1989, was described as a "mid-level player" in the 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in African. He pleaded guilty in 2000 and was sentenced to prison. Mohamed also admitted being a follower of Osama bin Laden.

4,000 - 10,000 Muslims in America's Armed Forces. Yeah, that's a good idea.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

Oh, well. Nothin' to worry 'bout here. Back to sleep for me. ZZZZZZZzzzzz...

[Prodigal Son]

I wonder how long this Captain had been up to this?

[dagnabbit]

The author forgot to mention the former muslim soldier turned DC Sniper.

[backhoe]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/562692/posts
The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America
DanielPipes.org ^ | November, 2001 | Daniel Pipes

[putupon]

Military officials yesterday confirmed that a Muslim chaplain who was counseling al Qaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base ......The Washington Times first reported yesterday that Army Capt. James. J. Yee is being held at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., charged with sedition, espionage, aiding the enemy, spying and failing to obey a general order.

Spy Pilot,
I hope that you fry.

[jaykay]

He (Capt. Yee) serves with the 29th Signal Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash.

         In 2001, Capt. Yee wrote a piece for the Fort Lewis newspaper titled "Islam, what is there to fear?"

    Fort Lewis is also the base where D.C. sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad served during his military service.

What is there to fear?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Anyone know where the grenade-throwing "soldier" trained?

[SLB]

Capt. Yee, 35, a 1990 graduate of West Point, converted to Islam in 1991 and left the Army after completing airborne school at Fort Knox, Ky.

I have worked at Ft Knox since 1985 and was assigned here prior to that while wearing green and have never seen an airborne school here. If he was in fact jump qualified he went to airborne training at Ft Benning, GA, not Ft Knox.

[Lion Den Dan]

You are up early.

[SLB]

You are up early.

Good old insomnia. Woke up two hours ago bright eyed and bushy tailed.

[SLB]

Do you think the Army will move this slime ball to the stockade at Ft Knox? When the "fragger" was there this summer the information was pretty close hold for a long time. Maybe we will have another dog and pony show with the media?

[FreedomPoster]

And g'mornin' to you. I trust move plans are progressing well.

And I spent a few years at Knox, too, and don't recall ever seeing a parachute. That certainly wasn't the case at Benning.

[Guillermo]

btt

[Lion Den Dan]

I am out the door now to build and load another pallet. First load North on 4 October. Will have to change my FreePer name to something like North Dakota Dan or Medora Minion.

Would not surprise me to see this POS traitor brought to Knox but seems they have him under some very tight restraint right now.

[genefromjersey]

The difference between what the Washington Times and the mainstream media are reporting is interesting ( if predictable ). For example, NBC news last night insisted the captain had been held 10 days, but had not yet been charged with anything. It claimed the Army was "studying" charges, and sort of snickered at the notion any papers available at Gitmo would contain classified information.

[just mimi]

FoxNews (TV) said that he was in possession of the names of detainees, the names of interrogators and a diagram of the prison camp.

[binreadin]

Would these be the papers determined as "classified?"

Re NBC, if prisoner interrogation is being conducted at Gitmo, then I would assume there would be a lot of classified information around, at least in the Intel shop. If this chaplain did have classified documents, where (from whom) would he get them? I would suspect there were others working with him.

It is time for us to stop the PC bullsh!t in our military and government services, and open our eyes.

[x1stcav]

He became interested in Islam while a student and later spent four years studying Arabic and Islam in Damascus, Syria.

Don't all officers still have to qualify for s Secret security clearance? Didn't anybody think that 4 years in Syria might have been grounds to deny this? Or were they so concerned as to look sympathetic toward Islam?