Citing the supposed persecution of Christian service members, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said today that the Obama administration is imposing Islamic law in the military.
Perkins’ commentary suggests that the military is enforcing Islamic law on service members stationed in Bahrain during Ramadan. But the Stars and Stripes story he cites explains that the military has merely informed American service members about how to stay in compliance with local laws in Bahrain, where the U.S. has a large base, during Ramadan: “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.”
The Navy is, however, requiring conservative long-sleeved shirts and blouses and long pants and skirts to adhere to local customs.
The myth-busting website Snopes has knocked the “greatly exaggerated” claims based on the Stars and Stripes article, noting that service members stationed in Islamic countries have traditionally had to observe local laws during Ramadan, noting that “as with other local laws, they can be detained by authorities for breaking them.”
Thanks to the Obama administration, our military can finally practice a religion: Islam's! Hello, I'm Tony Perkins with the Family Research Council in Washington. While the military is kicking Bibles off of bases and forcing verses to be erased from personal spaces, it seems there is plenty of room for Ramadan. The month-long Muslim holiday kicked off last week, and plenty of troops are celebrating -- whether they want to or not. According to the Stars and Stripes newspaper, the Pentagon is forcing service members to honor the Ramadan rules on everything from clothing to smoking to drinking coffee. During the fast, soldiers were even told they'd be fined for eating or drinking off-base. To most of our troops, who can't even practice their own religion under this administration, this a slap in the face. Our troops are expected to observe the Muslim faith while the expression of their own Christianity is unwelcome in the military fighting for freedom. “Let us redeem the time for certainly the days are evil.”
