> Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's family says he confided in them that he felt
> harassed
> as a Muslim in the U.S. military ? and wasn't treated as an American and
> soldier
> should be.
> He visibly lived his faith, wearing his military uniform to services and a
> cap
> and tunic around his apartment complex. But one day, he discovered his
> "Allah is
> Love" bumper sticker was ripped up and torn, and his car was keyed. A
> fellow
> soldier was charged, and the apartment manager where the two lived said
> the
> serviceman had recently returned from Iraq and was upset that Hasan is
> Muslim.
> Authorities don't know if Hasan's faith or encounters with other soldiers
> played
> any role in the attack at Fort Hood, and a motive is still not clear. They
> say
> he jumped atop a desk and began firing on his fellow soldiers, yelling
> "Allahu
> akbar!" ? a phrase that means "God is great!" in Arabic ? as he set off on
> a
> rampage that killed 13 and wounded 29 others.
> Still, some of the thousands of Muslims in the U.S. military worry that
> one
> burst of violence could unravel all of their work to be accepted as loyal,
> dedicated soldiers, and that their reputation could be another casualty of
> the
> attack.
> "Just as this guy in Fort Hood doesn't represent every single Muslim in
> the
> world or in this county, the few ignorant or racist people that remain in
> the
> military, they are so few and far between, they do not represent the
> military at
> large," said Ashkan Bayatpour, 25, a U.S. Navy veteran and the
> American-born son
> of Iranian immigrants.
> Army Chief of Staff George Casey said this week he worried about a
> backlash
> after the shootings. However, leaders of the American Muslim Armed Forces
> and
> Veterans Affairs Council predict that any backlash will be limited.
> Military
> personnel often have a more sophisticated world view after traveling the
> globe
> and working with people from diverse backgrounds, said Abdul-Rashid
> Abdullah, a
> U.S. Army veteran who served from 1991 to 1998.
> Most importantly, he said, they form strong bonds with their fellow
> soldiers. In
> his weekly radio and Internet address, President Barack Obama noted those
> bonds,
> too.
> "They are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians
> and
> Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers," Obama said. "They are
> descendants of
> immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that
> makes this
> America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other."
> There is no exact count of Muslims in the military. The Pentagon lists
> 3,557
> Muslims out of 1.4 million U.S. servicemembers, however the figure is
> likely low
> because the disclosure is voluntary, military officials said.
> The Army trains officers to be sensitive to Muslim culture because the
> nation is
> anxious to hand over security responsibilities in Iraq and Afghanistan to
> local
> authorities. But when combat troops are trained with war games, the
> soldiers
> playing "enemy" are often wearing head scarfs or traditional Muslim caps
> and
> knee-length tunics in mock villages or other surroundings with fake
> roadside
> bombs and exchanges of "gunfire."
> Bob Jenkins, a spokesman at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, said that the
> notion of
> fighting an enemy with commonalities to U.S. servicemembers is not new ?
> and
> that other soldiers have had to come to terms with that in past conflicts.
> "There is really no difference if you get someone who is of Italian
> heritage in
> World War II and send them into Italy to fight the people who backed
> Mussolini," he said. "There are some things you have to come to grips
> with."
> The armed services have a clear, well-known policy against discrimination,
> said
> Imam Yahya Hendi, a Georgetown University chaplain who has worked for more
> than
> a decade with U.S. military personnel. The military requires
> servicemembers to
> respect others' beliefs, and he has found officers take complaints of
> prejudice
> very seriously.
> He noted that the U.S. military is desperate to recruit American Muslims
> and
> make them feel welcome because, like many government agencies, the Armed
> Services need people with knowledge of Islam, Muslim culture and the
> Arabic
> language. Hendi has traveled to military bases nationwide, including
> several
> visits to Fort Hood, holding classes for soldiers deploying to Afghanistan
> and
> Iraq.
> Still, Hendi said policies and sensitivity training can't stop every snide
> comment. He said rank-and-file Muslim servicemembers have complained to
> him of
> being asked whether "you guys always pray to destroy us," or "Are you
> going to
> do what your people do?'"
> Hendi said he has encountered a few people during his trainings who
> consider the
> Muslim religion, not extremism, the real threat to national security.
> "There are always individuals who don't want to believe what you're saying
> about
> Muslims or Islam," he said. "They think you're evil."
> Bayatpour, who grew up in Mobile, Ala., and served in Iraq, said it was
> rare to
> hear offensive comments about his religion from fellow servicemembers. He
> said
> he found his presence in the Navy encouraged questions about what Islam
> teaches,
> and would often spark conversation about commonalities between Islam and
> Christianity.
> There have been pockets of conflict over religion in the military in
> recent
> years with accusations that Christian officers are evangelizing and
> creating an
> uncomfortable environment for underlings. However, Bayatpour said no one
> ever
> tried to persuade him to convert. The closest anyone came was giving him a
> copy
> of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life."
> Lt. Col. Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, 57, the U.S. military's first Muslim
> chaplain,
> said he's experienced little prejudice in the Army because of his religion
> and
> has heard of few complaints from other Muslims on base. Off base is worse,
> he
> said. He has been delayed at airports and had his luggage searched.
> Retired Marine Col. Doug Burpee, 52, who converted to Islam three decades
> ago to
> marry a Muslim woman, said fellow Marines were more curious about his
> religion
> than upset by it. He does remember Marines of similar rank chiding him,
> saying
> things such as, "Burpee's a traitor. He was a Christian and he's a
> Muslim." But
> he dismissed the comments as "guy stuff."
> "It is that kind of football banter that goes on," said Burpee, a business
> development manager from Glendale, Calif.
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