Bibles Are Offensive and Ramadan Rules … in U.S. Military

Back in March (2014), Fox News reported the U.S. Air Force kicked the Gideons off Maxwell Air Force Base – Gunter Annex in Alabama … because they are offensive.  For more than a decade new military recruits received a Bible from Gideons International volunteers.  (I would suspect that every veteran can remember receive the pocket-sized New Testament/Psalms/Proverbs Bible … and many still have it among their keepsakes of military service.)  But that tradition has come to an end after volunteers were told they would no longer be allowed to personally distribute the pocket-sized Bibles to recruits.  “They kicked us out,” Gideon’s volunteer Michael Fredenburg said.  “They told us, ‘get your Bibles out.’”  Gaylan Johnson, a public affairs officer for the Military Entrance Processing Command, clarified “They can place their literature within our facility, but they are not allowed to stand there and talk with applicants or hand them [the Bibles] out.”

 

Now, fast-forward to today.  According to Stars and Stripes U.S. military personnel are expected to adhere to Islamic rules and practices during Ramadan.  In the port city of Manama, Bahrain, U.S. personnel accustomed to drinking their coffee on the drive to work will have to put that habit on hold for the holy month of Ramadan.

 

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.  It began at sunrise last Saturday and 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 the meal that breaks the fast.

 

For the 8,200 U.S. personnel living in Bahrain, and those serving throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (including service members, 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, 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.

 

So, non-Muslim Americans must accommodate Islamic practices during Ramadan, but Gideons may not hand new recruits a Bible who are by no means required to take it or read it.  This doesn’t appear to be a ‘uniform’ code of justice.  This is not the military in which I served for 25-years.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel