Washington Times
October 4, 2003
Pg. 14
A Tale Of Two Soldiers
By Michelle Malkin
There's something terribly wrong when an American soldier overseas can't receive Scriptures in the mail, but a Muslim chaplain can preach freely among al Qaeda and Taliban enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay.
This is a story of two soldiers, one Christian, one Muslim. It's a cautionary tale that suggests how religious double standards and politically driven hypersensitivity threaten not only our troops, but us all.
Six months ago, Jack Moody tried to send his son, Daniel, a care package containing a Bible study and other Christian religious materials. Daniel is a 21-year-old Army National Guardsman serving in the Middle East. He had written home requesting spiritual support while he risked his life abroad. The literature his dad packed included Christian comic books. But when Daniel's dad approached the Post Office in the family's hometown of Lenoir, N.C., he was told he would not be allowed to send the items.
According to U.S.Postal Service Bulletin 22097, section E2, Mr. Moody was forbidden from sending "any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith or depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or nonauthorized political materials." The postal clerk informed Mr. Moody the package's Christian contents might be considered offensive to some Muslims overseas. The policy was initiated during the first Gulf war.
"My son is in the military, and he's overseas fighting to free this country from tyranny, and to protect our rights and our freedoms. And here our government has a rule on the books that has limited his freedom. I just couldn't believe it," Mr. Moody told the Voice of America news service.
Even more unbelievable was the apathetic reaction of Mr. Moody's elected representatives. According to John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute, a staunch defender of religious liberty, Sen. Elizabeth Dole's staff brushed off Mr. Moody. So did Dan Gurley, Republican Rep. Cass Ballenger's chief of staff. According to Mr. Moody, Mr. Ballenger refused to get involved, insisting the matter should be left to the courts.
And there's where Mr. Moody's case remains today. The case is included in the devastating new book "Persecution," best-selling author David Limbaugh's searing indictment of anti-Christian intolerance . The Rutherford Institute filed suit against the U.S. Postmaster General in defense of Mr. Moody's rights to freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and equal protection under the law. The group's motion for summary judgment is pending.
Mr. Whitehead explains: "The First Amendment prohibits our government from establishing a religion by favoring one over another. By stating that no material can be mailed if it is contrary to the Islamic religion, the U.S. Post Office has clearly shown deference to Islam above all other religions — and this definitely violates our Constitution."
Contrast Daniel Moody's treatment with that of Capt. James Yee. The Muslim convert, who studied in terror-sponsoring Syria and attended an Islamic cultural center run by the terror-friendly Saudi government, was given free rein by the U.S. Army to administer to the souls of al Qaeda and Taliban enemies at Guantanamo Bay.
Capt. Yee brought the detainees prayer beads and religious books, facilitated prayer services, and assisted them with Muslim food preparation. And he received lavish, fawning profiles in the "diversity-" and "tolerance-" obsessed mainstream press.
Now he has been charged with sedition, aiding the enemy, spying, espionage and failure to obey a general order. Treason charges may be added.
Capt. Yee exploited our bent-over-backward solicitude toward Muslims in the military by allegedly using his access to smuggle out diagrams of the detainees' cells and lists of the names of the detainees and their interrogators. More than half of the armed forces' Muslim chaplains were trained by a terror-linked, Saudi-subsidized institute while military leaders blindly sang the praises of multiculturalism.
Islamist Fifth Columnists are benefiting from the very guarantees of religious freedom being denied to devout Christian soldiers such as Daniel Moody who risk their lives for the War on Terror overseas. This dangerous deference to radical Islam — rooted in a cowardly fear of offending — is not only a threat to our soldiers' constitutionally protected rights, but to our national security.
Michelle Malkin is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of "Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores" (Regnery).
October 4, 2003
Pg. 14
A Tale Of Two Soldiers
By Michelle Malkin
There's something terribly wrong when an American soldier overseas can't receive Scriptures in the mail, but a Muslim chaplain can preach freely among al Qaeda and Taliban enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay.
This is a story of two soldiers, one Christian, one Muslim. It's a cautionary tale that suggests how religious double standards and politically driven hypersensitivity threaten not only our troops, but us all.
Six months ago, Jack Moody tried to send his son, Daniel, a care package containing a Bible study and other Christian religious materials. Daniel is a 21-year-old Army National Guardsman serving in the Middle East. He had written home requesting spiritual support while he risked his life abroad. The literature his dad packed included Christian comic books. But when Daniel's dad approached the Post Office in the family's hometown of Lenoir, N.C., he was told he would not be allowed to send the items.
According to U.S.Postal Service Bulletin 22097, section E2, Mr. Moody was forbidden from sending "any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith or depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or nonauthorized political materials." The postal clerk informed Mr. Moody the package's Christian contents might be considered offensive to some Muslims overseas. The policy was initiated during the first Gulf war.
"My son is in the military, and he's overseas fighting to free this country from tyranny, and to protect our rights and our freedoms. And here our government has a rule on the books that has limited his freedom. I just couldn't believe it," Mr. Moody told the Voice of America news service.
Even more unbelievable was the apathetic reaction of Mr. Moody's elected representatives. According to John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute, a staunch defender of religious liberty, Sen. Elizabeth Dole's staff brushed off Mr. Moody. So did Dan Gurley, Republican Rep. Cass Ballenger's chief of staff. According to Mr. Moody, Mr. Ballenger refused to get involved, insisting the matter should be left to the courts.
And there's where Mr. Moody's case remains today. The case is included in the devastating new book "Persecution," best-selling author David Limbaugh's searing indictment of anti-Christian intolerance . The Rutherford Institute filed suit against the U.S. Postmaster General in defense of Mr. Moody's rights to freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and equal protection under the law. The group's motion for summary judgment is pending.
Mr. Whitehead explains: "The First Amendment prohibits our government from establishing a religion by favoring one over another. By stating that no material can be mailed if it is contrary to the Islamic religion, the U.S. Post Office has clearly shown deference to Islam above all other religions — and this definitely violates our Constitution."
Contrast Daniel Moody's treatment with that of Capt. James Yee. The Muslim convert, who studied in terror-sponsoring Syria and attended an Islamic cultural center run by the terror-friendly Saudi government, was given free rein by the U.S. Army to administer to the souls of al Qaeda and Taliban enemies at Guantanamo Bay.
Capt. Yee brought the detainees prayer beads and religious books, facilitated prayer services, and assisted them with Muslim food preparation. And he received lavish, fawning profiles in the "diversity-" and "tolerance-" obsessed mainstream press.
Now he has been charged with sedition, aiding the enemy, spying, espionage and failure to obey a general order. Treason charges may be added.
Capt. Yee exploited our bent-over-backward solicitude toward Muslims in the military by allegedly using his access to smuggle out diagrams of the detainees' cells and lists of the names of the detainees and their interrogators. More than half of the armed forces' Muslim chaplains were trained by a terror-linked, Saudi-subsidized institute while military leaders blindly sang the praises of multiculturalism.
Islamist Fifth Columnists are benefiting from the very guarantees of religious freedom being denied to devout Christian soldiers such as Daniel Moody who risk their lives for the War on Terror overseas. This dangerous deference to radical Islam — rooted in a cowardly fear of offending — is not only a threat to our soldiers' constitutionally protected rights, but to our national security.
Michelle Malkin is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of "Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores" (Regnery).
