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
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