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Obama Forcing Islam on Troops?
- Thread starter carpro
- Start date
During Ramadan our BN CDR asked us to try to avoid eating in front of local Nationals while on our patrol as a token of respect.
There was that and a course on customs if you were going to be meeting with their government or local tribal sheiks. Not necessarily asking us to practice Islam but be cognizant of the culture during out interactions.
There was that and a course on customs if you were going to be meeting with their government or local tribal sheiks. Not necessarily asking us to practice Islam but be cognizant of the culture during out interactions.
No eating at all off base.
And then there's this:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...o-adhere-to-islamic-practices-during-ramadan/
I understand they are also forced to submit to "dawah", otherwise known as
proeslytizing by a muslim cleric... on base, as part of their training for ramadan.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...o-adhere-to-islamic-practices-during-ramadan/
I understand they are also forced to submit to "dawah", otherwise known as
proeslytizing by a muslim cleric... on base, as part of their training for ramadan.
We had the same thing. It amounted to
Don't look at the women
There's no beer
If you can find beer, there's no ice
They don't like western music here so don't walk down the street with a stereo blasting.
They keep their water in cisterns. That's not a urinal.
Only had to do this in Muslim countries. The rest of the world learned to tolerate US sailors a long time ago, I guess.
Yeah more or less just how to behave as a gust in someone's town hall or place of residence for us. We took out their mayor for an evaluation of the civil works projects we were working on during Ramadan and the guy couldn't even drink water in the 130 degree heat. He looked miserable by early evening. They would usually feast when the sun went down though I never really developed a taste for the local food.
Were you ever there during ramadan?
Were you allowed to eat or drink away from your base or in public during ramadan?
I never knew what Ramadan was until long after I served.
I do have to take my statement back. Seems we were briefed about Singapore's laws before we ported there as well.
So you were respecting local customs, not adhereing to a religious practice?
You were able to eat in public anytime you were hungry?
Well, like UoT stated, it's not like there's a lot of room for that. I don't remember seeing restaurants, mostly bowling alleys and markets. 35 years later my memory fails me on the eating in front of folks thing.
As I once read:
The guidance was pretty loose from what I recall, more like don't sit there and pigout in front of them. I think I just avoided eating or drinking during the meetings and ate food and drank water in transit from site to site in our vehicles.
Since troops are now told they must "adhere" to ramadan custom and cannot eat in public during ramadan, do you believe that is an actual change in policy?
Not sure, it wasn't my experience and my gut feeling is that the news may be exaggerating similar guidance to what we received. I found this write up on Snopes. I'll try to dig for more later as Snopes can be hit or miss but it usually give me a good launch point.
Origins: Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a holy period of spiritual reflection which Muslims worldwide observe with a month of fasting (consuming no food or drink, and abstaining from other physical needs, from sunrise to sunset). In 2015, the month of Ramadan corresponds to the period between June 18 and July 17 on the Gregorian calendar.
Around the beginning of Ramadan in 2014, various Internet-based reports asserted that U.S. troops stationed in Muslim countries were being "forced to observe
Ramadan," including being required to refrain from "eating, drinking, alcohol, smoking" and ordered to "practice Sharia law" during that period. Although the military has issued some regulations affecting the conduct of U.S. troops during Ramadan in order to conform to local cultural customs, those regulations do not including requiring U.S. military personnel to fast or submit to Sharia law.
Such claims were based on a single article from the military publication Stars and Stripes which has been greatly exaggerated in the telling. What that article actually reported is that some U.S. military personnel in Bahrain have been briefed about the significance of Ramadan, Navy personnel there have been ordered to dress more conservatively while off-base during that month, and troops have been reminded that activities such as eating, drinking, and smoking in public in the daytime during the month of Ramadan is a violation of local law (and as with other local laws, they can be detained by authorities for breaking them):
Base cultural advisers have spent the last few weeks conducting Ramadan briefs to educate Americans about the holy month. Ali Hassan briefed about 150 personnel about Islam, the lunar calendar and customs and traditions 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.
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.
As a number of servicemen who have been stationed in Muslim countries have observed to us, the restriction against eating and drinking in public during Ramadan didn't affect them much since most businesses, shops, and restaurants in such areas are closed in the daytime throughout that month.
This seems somewhat more realistic at least according to my experiences. Mabye Woody can add his thoughts on what guidance he received.
I tried to find a Navy town for better information and I got this from Jacksonville.
http://jacksonville.com/reason/fact...ops-muslim-countries-have-fast-during-ramadan
That source concentrated on the false claim that our troops were required to fast. No such claim was made here.
What I'm really looking for is the difference between now and last ramadan, or the one before that. Haven't had much luck.
I am bothered by the use of the word "adhere" in place of "respect". No one seems to know what that means.