Muslims in the U.S. military are as loyal as any, chaplain says (Now Chaplain caught as Islamic spy)

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER ^ | Saturday, October 20, 2001 | MIKE BARBER

[Destro]

Muslims in the U.S. military are as loyal as any, chaplain says

Saturday, October 20, 2001

By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

FORT LEWIS -- Each Friday, soldiers in battle-dress camouflage here remove their boots, face Mecca and prostrate themselves, heads bowed to the carpet in obedience to Allah.

In the military base's Islamic Chapel Center, they recite their Jumah prayers, following the lead of Capt. James Yee, a West Point graduate and a convert to Islam who is chaplain of Fort Lewis' largest battalion. (and now charged with espionage, aiding the enemy and spying)

More than a month after terrorist attacks sent the United States into war against Middle Eastern terrorists who twist Islam to validate their perversions, Yee and military chaplains in general are playing increasingly important roles.

And in the first U.S. war with religious overtones, especially after calls by terrorists for "holy war" against the United States, Yee has become one of the most sought-after figures at the base, called upon to edify others about Islam and to elaborate on the relationship between soldiering and spirituality.

"Most people want to know how Sept. 11 fits into Islam," said Yee, 33, a former Lutheran who specialized in air artillery defense and was a Patriot missile fire control officer before becoming a chaplain.

"What happened is un-Islamic and categorically denied by a great majority of Muslim scholars around the world," he said of the terrorists who commandeered passenger jets and slammed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing people from all faiths. (The Koran says a Muslim cam lie to infidels to further the goals of jihad)

Yee is chaplain of the 700-member 29th Signal Battalion, which counts nearly a dozen Muslim soldiers in its ranks. (Such a high percentage, no?) He estimates that there are 100 to 150 Muslim soldiers at Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base.

The number of Muslims in the U.S. military is hard to estimate. Estimates vary from 4,000 to more than 12,000. Armywide, Yee knows of at least seven other posts with Muslim chaplains.

Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., counts upwards of 15,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guard members.

The average age of U.S. Muslim troops is 21, Uqdah said. Most are married, with one child.

Like servicemen and women of other faiths, American troops who study Islam's Quran are as loyal as anyone, said Uqdah, whose organization helps recruit and endorse Muslim chaplains for the armed forces.

"These troops are focusing on getting ready and are ready to execute the commander in chief's orders," Uqdah said. "Muslim men and women are no different from anyone else in the military."

Uqdah believes the presence of Muslim chaplains in the military is sending "a profound message to the world."

As a chaplain, Yee is available as a ready counselor and sympathetic ear to soldiers of all faiths, as well as a spiritual leader for Muslim soldiers, just at Protestant, Catholic and Jewish chaplains lead services in their respective faiths.

"I serve all the soldiers here. The role of a chaplain is to help facilitate the free exercise of religion. That's our main job," Yee said. "Chaplains aren't in the soldier's chain of command, but provide another channel ... to share feelings or complain without ramifications."

The first Muslim chaplain in the U.S. military, Army Chaplain Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, on Oct. 11 participated in memorial services at the Pentagon, reading from the Quran. Muslims in other countries who see American Muslim chaplains praying at the Pentagon, "will see that Muslims are not being oppressed in America," he said.

These days, Yee and other Muslim chaplains find themselves not only edifying non-Muslims about Islam, but advising troops who follow the Quran and who wonder what Islamic law says about fighting other Muslims.

Such concerns generally are no different than those any soldier brings up when faced with combat, Yee said.

"Taking up arms and killing is an issue all soldiers have to deal with," said Yee, adding that some Muslims will feel a conflict between their faith and going to war no matter who is the enemy.

"I encourage them to go," Yee said.

Said Uqdah: "They (Muslim service men and women) already made a decision when they joined the service. The Quran tells you to honor your contracts. They were not coerced, they were freely entered into, they were not drafted."

Several months ago Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, asked Islamic scholars to issue a "fatwa," or religions opinion, on the question. The supportive opinion said Muslims have a duty to fight terrorism.

Yee recently wrote a piece for Fort Lewis' newspaper, the Northwest Guardian, titled "Islam, what is there to fear?"

"I wanted to address some of the reasons why people in the United States are having a difficult time distinguishing between the religion of Islam and the actions almost everyone witnessed on Sept. 11 by some Muslims," Yee said.

"When Mohammed Ali, the boxing champ, visited the attack site at the World Trade Center, a reporter asked him, 'How do you feel about the suspected hijackers sharing your faith?'" Yee noted. Ali answered, "How do you feel about Hitler sharing yours?"

The point, said Yee, is that while a person can be of a certain faith, his or her actions don't always fall within the teachings of that faith.

Uqdah and Yee said that Muslim soldiers know how to balance religious obligations that involve five mandatory prayers a day with military duties.

"When it comes time to pray, what is required is that he or she be in a certain state of spiritual purification and needs a clean place to pray. They can do that almost anywhere," Yee said.

Interest in hiring Muslim chaplains escalated shortly after the Persian Gulf War in 1991. With Islam the fastest-growing religion in America, the services are moving to accommodate more followers. Uqdah said African Americans make up the largest ethnic group among Muslims, followed by Indo-Pakistanis, Arabs and Caucasians.

The military opened its first permanent Islamic prayer center, the Masjid al Da'wah, at the Norfolk, Va., Naval Air Station in 1997. As many as two dozen sailors attend weekly. Fort Lewis' Islamic center, formerly used for Protestant and Catholic services, became a Muslim center in 1998.

Nationwide, Uqdah, who is in touch with Muslim service members, said reports of anti-Muslim bias are rare among the services.

"President Bush set the tempo, and each commander sets zero tolerance," Uqdah said. "Religious bias, just like racial and sex discrimination, is not tolerated in the military."

P-I reporter Mike Barber can be reached at 206-448-8018 or mikebarber@seattlepi.com

[Destro]

Islamic chaplain is charged as spy Yup, the same one in this article.

[WOSG]

Time to contact presstitute Mike Barber and say: ""You've been scammed!"

[Destro]

This article about Yee came out a month after 9/11.

[facedown]

bump

[SC Swamp Fox]

Good catch, well done!

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

I WAS one of the most tolerant people I've ever known!

9-11 opened up my eyes to the truth of Islam.

[VOA]

thanks for the cross-reference to the current article...

[Chu Gary]

I say, re-assign all these Muslims in the US Military as kitchen personnel, washing dishes, then serve a lot of pork ribs every week. The troops would be happy as hell!

[Sabertooth]

What was the religious affiliation of the US soldier who tossed a grenade into an officers' tent, killing several, during the Iraq War?

What was the motivation for his fragging?

[niteowl77]

Time to contact presstitute Mike Barber and say: "You've been scammed!"

The worst of it is that he (Barber) was used to spread palatable poison to a wider audience.

[Migraine]

And in the first U.S. war with religious overtones,

All wars have religious overtones. But, how soon we forget. The war w/ Japan, whose emperor was god in the Shinto scheme of things, caused America to do a lot of scrambling to see to it that adherents of Shinto here in America could be in no position to do us harm from within. So people were interned, many of them quite loyal. But it only takes one; and in war, you must do everything to win -- including rounding up potential saboteurs, because it IS war. How soon we forget.

[Travis McGee]

The Russians put it nicely.

Smertz Spionam!

Death to Spies!

[SauronOfMordor]

Yee is chaplain of the 700-member 29th Signal Battalion, which counts nearly a dozen Muslim soldiers in its ranks.

So, let me get this straight. We have a dozen Muslims in a SIGNAL BATTALION, with access to secret US crypto gear?

[Finny]

"When Mohammed Ali, the boxing champ, visited the attack site at the World Trade Center, a reporter asked him, 'How do you feel about the suspected hijackers sharing your faith?'" Yee noted. Ali answered, "How do you feel about Hitler sharing yours?"

What kind of a MORON is the reporter to use this in the story at all? Hitler was not a practicing, professing Christian, and he did not do what he did in the name of God or Jesus Christ. What part of "Allah Akbar!" doesn't Yee and the reporter understand?

[Destro]

Like I said--what an weirdly high percentage, eh?

[Destro]

bump

[SwinneySwitch]

"How do you feel about Hitler sharing yours?"

The reporter probably was an athiest or agnostic!

[xzins]

I am a recently retired chaplain. The islamic chaplaincy is a security mistake that will only serve to injure our nation.

Our leaders believe there exists a "pacifist" version of Islam. I think that's naive and belied by any reasonably literate interpretation of the actual words on the pages of the Koran. I've watched and read as islamic scholars are asked if democracy is a viable governmental system according to the Koran. To a man they've denied democracy and insisted that a caliphate is the only credible government according to islamic law. Think abou that for even a fraction of a moment, and you'll see the issue.

The religion itself calls on islamics within our military to deny the validity our governmental structure.

This is a black eye for the chaplaincy. It documents for me the incredible mistake of our chaplaincy providing organizing opportunities for islam within our own military through the religious programs, structures, and budgets. We must remember that fundamental islam believes there should be no distinction between religious and governmental structures.

Xzins
Chaplain (Retired) US Army

[Sabertooth]

Thanks for that post. I'd like to suggest that you expand on it a bit, and post your observations as their own thread. Information like yours is invaluable, and it's important to get it past the newsfilters of the organized media.

[King Prout]

I used to be rather tolerant of Islam and Muslims.
I used to believe that Muslims could peaceably coexist with non-muslims within this republic.
I am no longer convinced of that notion - not even close.
With all love and apologies to my many Muslim friends (lapsed, without exception), I do believe it is time for Americans to strongly consider and publicly debate a modification-by-Amendment of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Some "religions" are intrinsically inimical to the health, integrity, and continuance of a constitutional republic such as ours, and cannot be tolerated.

[Bobby777]

These days, Yee and other Muslim chaplains find themselves not only edifying non-Muslims about Islam, but advising troops who follow the Quran and who wonder what Islamic law says about fighting other Muslims.

The Koran / Hadith on Jews, Christians, Christianity, Christ, the Gospel, The Deity of Christ and the Holy Trinity

[4.89] They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.

[3.85] "And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers."

[4.91] You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given.you a clear authority.

[5.51] O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

[6.146] And to those who were Jews We made unlawful every animal having claws, and of oxen and sheep We made unlawful to them the fat of both, except such as was on their backs or the entrails or what was mixed with bones: this was a punishment We gave them on account of their rebellion, and We are surely Truthful.

[9.5] So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

[62.6] Say: O you who are Jews, if you think that you are the favorites of Allah to the exclusion of other people, then invoke death If you are truthful. (PLEASE COMMIT SUICIDE)

[2.111] And they say: None shall enter the garden (or paradise) except he who is a Jew or a Christian. These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful.

[5.14] And with those who say, We are Christians, We made a covenant, but they neglected a portion of what they were reminded of, therefore We excited among them enmity and hatred to the day of resurrection; and Allah will inform them of what they did.

[5.72] Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah, He is the Messiah, son of Marium; and the Messiah said: O Children of Israel! serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Surely whoever associates (others) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden to him the garden, and his abode is the fire; and there shall be no helpers for the unjust.

"Fight those who do not profess the true faith [ISLAM], till they pay the jiziya with the hand of humility." - Koran 9: 29

".... I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks [CUT OFF THEIR HEADS], and smite all their finger tips of them [CUT OFF THEIR FINGERS]." - Koran 8: 12

"Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate." - Koran 9: 73

"When you meet the unbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads [CUT OFF THEIR HEADS] and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly." - Koran 47: 4

"The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and his messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom...." - Koran 5: 33-34

" Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last day, nor hold the forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jiziyah with willing submission. And feel themselves subdued." - Koran 9: 29

"the People of the Book and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures." - Koran 98: 1-8

"Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. They shall be lashed rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape from Hell, back they shall be dragged, and will be told: 'Taste the torment of the Conflagration!'" - Koran 22: 19-22, 23

"And burn ye him in the blazing fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits. This was he that would not believe in allah Most high and would not encourage the feeding of the indignant. So no friend hath he here this day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds. " - Koran 31-37

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and his messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be to be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and genitals cut off, or to be expelled out of the land. Such will be their humiliation in the world, and in the next world they will face an awful horror." - Koran, 5:33-34)

"In order that Allah may separate the pure from the impure, put all the impure ones [all non-Muslims] one on top of another in a heap and cast them into hell. They will have been the ones to have lost." - Koran, 8:37

The God of Israel has a Son - Jesus Christ of Nazareth, but Allah has no son according to the Koran Therefore the Biblical Christian God of Israel is not Allah

"They say: Allah has taken a Son (to Himself)! Glory be to Him: he is the Self-sufficient: his is what is in the heavens and what is in the Earth; you have no authority for this; do you say against Allah what you do not know? Say: Those who forge a lie against Allah shall not be successful." - Koran 10:68-69 [SAYS JESUS IS NOT THE SON OF GOD AND WHOEVER SAYS SO IS A LIAR]

"....the Christians call 'Christ the Son Of God'. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but intimate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth." - Koran 9: 30

[4.171] O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and his Word which he communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and his apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one god; far be It from his glory that he should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector. (CLEARLY STATES THAT JESUS IS **NOT** THE SON OF GOD)

[9.30] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!

Say: "Praise be to Allah Who begets no son and has no partner in (His) dominion: nor (needs) he any to protect him from humiliation: Yea magnify him for his greatness and glory!" - Koran 17: 111

Further that he may warn those (also) who say "Allah hath begotten a son": - Koran 18: 4

It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that he should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When he determines a matter he only says to it "Be" and it is. - Koran 19: 35

They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!" Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! - Koran 19: 88-89

For it is not consonant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that he should beget a son. - Koran 19: 92

No son did Allah beget nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods) behold each god would have taken away what he had created and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah (he is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to Him! - Koran 23: 91

he begetteth not nor is he begotten; - Koran 112: 3

The Hadith Volume 4, Book 52, Number 176-177: Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:

[176] Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "

[177] Allah's Apostle said, "The (Final) Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

The Hadith Volume 2, Book 26, Number 594-595: Narrated Abu Huraira:

[594] The Prophet was asked, "Which is the best deed?" He said, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle." He was then asked, "Which is the next (in goodness)?" He said, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." He was then asked, "Which is the next?" He said, "To perform Hajj-Mabrur. "

[595] (the mother of the faithful believers) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur. "

[RLK]

Each Friday, soldiers in battle-dress camouflage here remove their boots, face Mecca and prostrate themselves, heads bowed to the carpet in obedience to Allah.

------------------------

They'd be better off to spend the time in competent psychotherapy than to spend it in obsessive-compulsive obedience to the ravings of a middle eastern madman siezed upon as an agent of Allah.

[Missouri]

"When Mohammed Ali, the boxing champ, visited the attack site at the World Trade Center, a reporter asked him, 'How do you feel about the suspected hijackers sharing your faith?'" Yee noted. Ali answered, "How do you feel about Hitler sharing yours?"

Hitler was not a practicing, professing Christian

Your exactly right. Hitler was more of a pagan. There of course has been many shows on the History Channel about Hitler. In one he said that Christianity was a religon for the weak. Also in article on Frontpage news, said Hitler was quoted saying that he had wished that the German people were Muslims figuring killing would come easier to them.

Ali has no creditability when it comes to history.

[Jabba the Nutt]

Bingo! People have to be very careful claiming 'firsts', 'always' or 'never'. They are almost always wrong.

[Destro]

God bless you. There is no black eye to you or your calling. Sky Pilots like you are what has made the American army the most moral army in the history of the world.

I would like to present an example of why Christianity differs from Islam in the example of a prayer Christians soldiers use in the Orthodox rite (Note the love for life and to love of peace) compared to Islam's glory of death:

A PRAYER FOR SOLDIERS

The theology we have been discussing above is well illustrated in the Prayer for Soldiers Going Off to Battle from the Book of Needs (Trebnik, Euchologion). In it are clearly balanced the ambiguous nature of our life here on our earth, and the need for Divine forgiveness:

"O Holy Master, Almighty Father and Pre-Eternal God, Who alone made and directs all things; Who rise up quickly against the evil of the impious ones; Who, by Providence, teach Thy people preservation of Justice and the obliteration of the sword on earth; Who condescend to raise up military columns to help the people: O God, Who commanded the Forerunner John to say to the soldiers coming to him in the desert, 'Do not intimidate anyone... and be content with your wages':

We entreat Thee with compunction, that Thou gavest Thy child David the power to defeat Goliath, and as Thou didst condescend, through Judas Maccabeus, to seize victory from the arrogant pagans who would not call on Thy Name; so too, grant protection in righteousness and truth to these Thy servants against the enemies rising against them, and by Thy heavenly loving-kindness, strength and might for the preservation of faith and truth.

Condescend, out of Thy mercy, O Master, to grant them the fear of Thee, together with humility, obedience and good endurance; that they kill no one unrighteously, but rather preserve all righteousness and truth; that they may fear Thee and honor Justice; that they run in friendship to those who are scattered, extending thy love to those near them, serving the elderly with justice; and that their ranks fulfill all things righteously;

For thou art our God, and to Thee do we ascribe glory; to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen."

-- Fr. Steven Armstrong

Now compare an Islamic prayer for soldiers:

The Turks' Prayer against the Christians

"Eternal God and creator of all things, and thou O Mahomet his sacred and divine prophet. We beseech thee let us not dread the Christians, who are so mean and silly to rely on a crucified god. By the power of thy right hand, so strengthen ours that we may surround this foolish people, on every side, and utterly destroy them. At length fulfill our prayers and put these miscreants into our hands, that we may establish thy throne for ever in Mecca, and sacrifice all those enemies of our most holy religion at thy tomb. Blow us with thy mighty breath like swarms of flies into their quarters, and let the eyes of these infidels bedazelled with the lustre of our moon. Consume them with thy fiery darts, and blind them with the dust which they themselves have raised. Destroy them all in thine anger. Break all their bones in pieces, and consume the flesh and blood of those who defile thy sacrifice, and hang the sacred light of circumcision on their cross. Wash them with showers of many waters, who are so stupid to worship gods they know not: and make their Christ a son to that God who ne're begot him. Hasten therefore their destruction we humbly entreat thee, and blot out their name and religion, which they glory so much in, from off the face of the earth, that they may be no more, who condemn and mock at thy law. Amen."

[Destro]

See my #25

[auggy]

I am speechless. Shocked, I tell you.

Has anyone confirmed this? It can't be. Not the Religion of Piece's.

Well, I just refuse to believe it.

[auggy]

I think they should de-capitate him on Satellite TV.

Then pour a gallon of pig piss down his neck.

[Eva]

Do you know if they interviewed Yee in regard to the DC sniper? There may be some Fort Lewis connection.

[Helms]

If you can get these monkeys down almost on all fours, your on the way to the Borg Collective, and definitely have "mind share" above and beyond any Christian or Jew is asked for.

[Bobby777]

the spirit of the antichrist according to 1st John ... openly espoused ... thanks for the bump ...

[Guillermo]

Hitler was a Pagan.

[Helms]

Islamic prayer or Jim Jone's Campsite?

[tioga]

good post...

ths pc bull is going to destroy us...

[xzins]

Thanks, Destro.

The Christian prayer is a reminder that we fight for justice and wish harm to none.

X

[nightdriver]

"Most people want to know how Sept. 11 fits into Islam," said Yee, 33, a former Lutheran.....

He may have been a Lutheran, but he never was a Christian.

[browardchad]

Here's more propaganda featuring Yee. I agree with him: there is only one Islam, and it aims to destroy us. His actions are simply more proof of that.

Serving Allah and America - Muslims in the military strive to reconcile religion
Date: Monday, November 12 @ 12:11:12 HST
Topic: Focus on Service Members

By NORM MAVES JR.
Religion News Service

FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Marty Thompkins' resonant tenor rises above the silence inside Building TO3725.

"Allah" he intones, singing the adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, "Allahu akbar!"
"God is most great!"

Only the faraway echoes of artillery practice serve as a reminder that this is a U.S. Army post. The four soldiers sitting on the carpet behind him - all barefoot, all in camouflage uniform - do not notice the distant booms.

This is the prayer session of Juma - the Day of Gathering, which comes every Friday - and they have much on their minds.

The 80 to 100 Muslim soldiers serving their country at Fort Lewis pray five times a day to Allah. Their units could be sent to areas in the same region as their most holy shrines in Mecca and Medina - perhaps to kill or be killed by other Muslims.

For Muslims in the U.S. military, these are wrenching times.

"In my inner self, it kind of hurts," says Florida native Thompkins, who converted to Islam at a community college. "I was very troubled. You cannot do that in the name of Allah."

Thompkins, a sergeant who works in a motor transportation unit, says he reminds himself often that what is happening in his world is a trial.

"A lot of tests have been put upon us," he says. "Maybe this is another test. May I, and my brothers, pass this test."

The test has not included any problems with fellow soldiers since Sept.11. Thompkins waves off the question.

"There has been no problem at all," he says, "because everybody who knows me knew me before Sept.11."

The question he can't answer with any conviction, though, is what might happen if he is confronted with the question of killing a fellow Muslim, or being killed by one.

His faith tells him he shouldn't kill. His profession dictates that he might have to.

"I'll do," he says slowly, "what I have to do. I only pray that I am guided by Allah, and that I do the right thing."

There are some 150Muslims - counting wives and children - within the military radius served by the white building on the southern end of the post. They come mostly from the Fort Lewis community south of Tacoma; some come from McChord Air Force Base, just across a fence to the east.

Estimates of the number of Muslims in the United States vary greatly, from 2million to 7million Muslims. The Charlotte area is home to some 7,000Muslims. Hard numbers on those who serve in the military are even more difficult to come by.

Capt. James J. Yee, one of several chaplains assigned to Fort Lewis, is the Army's only West Coast Muslim chaplain.

As the chaplain for the 29th Signal Brigade, he is the spiritual, moral and psychological counselor for 700 troops - of any or no faith. He advises soldiers, hears their problems, helps families adjust to separations and tries to get whatever help his charges need.

But since Sept.11, Yee has become a source of answers for the many questions that have evolved from the attacks.

"When it first happened," he said, "almost every day soldiers would stop me and want to know about Islam.

"What's the relationship of Islam to what happened? What is jihad? What does Islam say about killing innocent people?

"They want me to reassure them. I'm doing my best."


`Only one Islam'
Yee, who is Chinese-American and was raised in New Jersey, converted to Islam after college, in his case the U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1990. He learned about the faith while at West Point. After finishing airborne school at Fort Knox, Ky., he converted to Islam and left the Army for four years to study religion and Islam in Damascus, Syria.
He returned as a chaplain.

Thus, he has done a lot of explaining, including that the word "jihad" has many meanings, the foremost of which is a personal struggle to become a better human being. The word also is invoked by Osama bin Laden and others to try to justify their "holy war" against the United States.

Yee says the terrorist attacks and killing of civilians are forbidden by Islamic law, separating the perpetrators from the body of Islam, not the other way around.

"There is," Yee says, "only one Islam."

He has had to explain to field commanders that the five mandatory daily prayers take only a few minutes a day. He recently gave a basewide briefing and slide show.

He cites the following passage (Sura II, 155-157) from the Quran:

"Be sure. We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere, who say, when afflicted with calamity: `To Allah we belong and to Him is our return'; They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and mercy, and they are the ones that receive Guidance."

This article comes from American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council
http://amafandvac.org

The URL for this story is:
http://amafandvac.org/article.php?sid=13

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

I don't want them to poison MY food.

[Cicero]

He learned about the faith while at West Point.

I'm a bit curious about this, too. I should think it would take a very strong incfluence to convert a Chinese American to Islam, since the number of ethnic Chinese who are Muslims must be pretty near zero.

[Old Sarge]

Muslims in the U.S. military are as loyal as any, chaplain says

Max capacity truckload of hot steaming BS.

[King Prout]

I don't know if there is any fundamental difference between the two. At this point I do not believe there IS a fundamental difference.

[Darksheare]

I'm beginning to think that the muslims I have known are a minority group within the muslim world as a whole.
And that so-called extremists are the majority.
(Muslims who love America being a micro-minority group versus those who hate America being the vast majority.)

[ValerieUSA]

Yee, who is Chinese-American and was raised in New Jersey, converted to Islam after college, in his case the U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1990. He learned about the faith while at West Point. After finishing airborne school at Fort Knox, Ky., he converted to Islam and left the Army for four years to study religion and Islam in Damascus, Syria. He returned as a chaplain.

No red flags went up? He was recruited at the academy to be a spy. *duh* "Tolerance" of infiltration is a KILLER.

[browardchad]

He was recruited at the academy to be a spy

Well, he was recruited to be a Muslim at the Academy, but the spy business might have come later.

From the NY Times, Oct. 7, 2001, "Military Clerics Balance Arms and Allah:"

The newest Muslim chaplain is James J. Yee, a Chinese-American and a West Point graduate who was born into a Lutheran family, took an interest in Islam in college and deepened his convictions while stationed at Fort Knox, Ky., where he was studying vehicle maintenance during the month of Ramadan alongside four visiting Egyptian army officers. In a telephone interview, Chaplain Yee said he left the military to attend a traditional Islamic school in Damascus, Syria, where he spent four years studying Arabic and religion. He is serving with the 29th Signal Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash.

[Travis McGee]

What if the next Hitler called the Nazi Party a "religion" first? Would we have permitted "Nazi Acadmies" and "Nazi Temples" to flourish in the USA unmolested in the 1930s and 1940s? With insane German Nazis as their "priests?"

This is IMHO what Mohammed did.

[Travis McGee]

deepened his convictions while stationed at Fort Knox, Ky., where he was studying vehicle maintenance during the month of Ramadan alongside four visiting Egyptian army officers

Sounds like that was where he was recruited by our "allies" the Egyptians.

In 20 years, we are going to tear our hair out, when we finally realize that we have recruited 100s or 1,000s of Islamic "Kim Philbys" into our FBI, CIA, NSA etc, in our rush to hire Arabic speaking agents.

[joesnuffy]

The majority of muslim chaplains are Wahhabis
The Saudis sponsor the Wahhabis and their lobby groups of which CAIR is one ....
The majority of the murderers of 09-11 were Saudis
Yet we let the Saudis do pretty much whatever they want?

[browardchad]

In 20 years, we are going to tear our hair out, when we finally realize that we have recruited 100s or 1,000s of Islamic "Kim Philbys" into our FBI, CIA, NSA etc, in our rush to hire Arabic speaking agents.

In 20 years? We should be tearing our hair out now -- not for the (recent) rush to hire Arabic speakers, but for allowing militant Islamics to infiltrate our military for the past decade, in the name of "diversity."

[Gamecock]

What are you doing out of the religious ghetto! Back I say! ;-)

[facedown]

ping