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A soldier's religion ought not matter
Q: What is the proper role of religion -- and personal religious belief -- in the U.S. armed forces? Should a particular religious affiliation disqualify someone from active military service? How far should the military go to accommodate personal religious beliefs and practices?
I was in a beauty salon and found myself recoiling as I overheard a spirited conversation.
"He's a terrorist," one woman was declaring definitively. "They knew he was a terrorist and they didn't do anything about it. I don't think any Muslim ought to be in our armed forces. You can't trust any of them."
She was talking about Maj. Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter. And she was adamant.
I offered an unsolicited response. "I don't think he was a terrorist. I think he was just nuts. I think he was overwhelmed, and this overwhelmed guy just happened to be Muslim who knew some radical Muslims."
She turned on me and looked at me though I had committed treason. "I said he's a terrorist," she said evenly, "and I don't believe any Muslim ought to serve in our armed forces."
I left the discussion alone, but was troubled.
Even though I am an ordained minister, I tend not to like organized religion. I've read how there is controversy in the Catholic church because some think that any pro-choice politician ought not be allowed to receive sacraments or be allowed to have a Catholic funeral.
To me, stances like that are dribble, and harmful dribble at that. They have nothing to do with one's character. We are allowed to have differences of opinion; religion is not supposed to control us, but instead be a vehicle through which we find liberation from ourselves and our tendency to imprison ourselves in guilt, greed, shame, and a host of other issues.
Religion is supposed to draw us closer to God, not push us against each other.
That being said, I don't think religion ought to be a factor in whether or not one is in the military. On the battlefield, I doubt it makes anyone much difference if his or her battle buddy is a pro-life Catholic or a Bible-thumping Evangelical. I think, on the battlefield, differences dissipate because everyone is working for a common good, and nobody wants anybody to be felled by the enemy.
Perhaps it is on the battlefield where real religion is practiced.
Was Hasan a radical Muslim? Should any radical Muslim be allowed in the military? Well, given the hatred that some radical Muslims have displayed against the United States, that might not be a good thing, and it would seem suspicious if an openly radical Muslim wanted to join the United States military.
Perhaps careful screening of some Muslims is necessary, given the current spirit of anti-Americanism that pervades our society. But that screening would open a can of worms, because if one religion can be scrutinized and people weeded out based on their beliefs, sooner or later the charge would come that the United States was being discriminatory.
The danger in through here is that Americans are still so on edge, and the anti-American rhetoric spouted off by some Islamic leaders is so bitter, that many well-meaning, America-loving Muslims would be cast aside or cast out if screenings were the rule. Ironically, many marginalized Americans join the military precisely to prove their loyalty and love for this country. That was certainly the case with African Americans in previous wars.
The difference, though, between African Americans wanting to serve and the current climate in America today was that there was no organized terrorist groups of African Americans threatening to decimate America, nor had there been a tragedy similar to 911 that had been carried out by African Americans.
I would not want to see the military take a stance against any American who wants to serve, and that includes Muslims. I would simply say that American intelligence has its work cut out for it in carefully screening people who might be wolves in lamb's clothing.
That, unfortunately, is the state of our world today.
By
Susan K. Smith
|
November 11, 2009; 11:18 AM ET
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Posted by: Navin1 | November 16, 2009 6:32 PM
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Bigotry never works. Didn't work when the military wanted to keep Blacks out, women out. It also cannot be sanctioned in this nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Posted by: tyson41 | November 12, 2009 10:10 PM
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It is interesting to see how in the land of the free one of the the first responses to an attack is to seek to deny freedom to a group of citizens based on their religion.
Posted by: kcarruthers | November 11, 2009 9:40 PM
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I think discrimination is wrong period. It is an unfortunate fact that being Muslim is associated with being a terrorist, and it's not fair. If we choose to generalize a characteristic to all members of a group and label all Muslims terrorists, maybe we should label all white people racists and keep them from interacting with people of color in any way. That would be ridiculous, and discriminating against Muslims in the military is equally as ridiculous. As stated in the article, when our soldiers are out on the battlefield fighting for our country, WHO CARES about your religion????? They are all there for a common goal, to defeat the enemy. Whether one solider goes back to New Birth Missionary Church while another goes to the Jewish synagogue is irrelevant. While those two soldiers are out on the field they are fighting together, end of story.
I do not think terrorism is right in any way, whether it be terrorism against America or American terrorism against foreign nations. And I believe that there should be an effort in place to try to prevent terrorists from acting upon U.S. soil. But being a terrorist is not only restricted to Muslims. ANYBODY can be a terrorist. So if the military is going to start keeping Muslims out of the military, they might as well do it for Christians, and Jews, and Buddists, and Hinduists...the list could go on and on. It would be a never ending cycle which I hope the U.S. would never have to come to.
Posted by: spellady08 | November 11, 2009 5:21 PM
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"Hate the sin, not the sinner. "
But we need to understand the source of the sin. Then we can find a way to reduce the chances of the problem.
hariaum