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One of the major surprises for me after returning from twelve months in Iraq was the anti-Moslem bias in my country.  Now, five years later, I suppose that is to be expected.  Very few Americans know any Moslems.  And, of course, we are all very faimiliar with the eighteen murderous Moslems that attacked us on 9/11.  I served with some remarkable persons in Iraq who happened to be Moslem.  So, my perception is now different.  I flinch when I hear anti-Moselm rhetoric.  Moslem jokes are not funny to me.  And, I have disputed with several of my fellow citizens that Moslems are anymore violent than anyone else.  

No, I have not read the Koran.  I have been told that the Koran teaches Moslems to be violent.  A devout Christian friend has read the Koran in Arabic and says different.  Whatever.  As I have mentioned here before, I knew some wonderful persons in Iraq who happened to be Moslem.  In fact, we could not prosecute these two wars without some very brave and very decent Iraqis and Afghanis who happen to be Moslem.  

Egyptian society is roiling and turning.  Egypt has had a visible Christian minority for the last couple thousand years.  They have existed in uncertain peace with their Moslem neighbors.  With the current revolutionary fervor, one would expect religious strife.  One Christian church was burned when a romance between a Moslem girl and a Christian boy was discovered.  The boy and the girl were seen together.  The village elders decided the girl must die.  Her father refused.  Extremists killed him and strife began.  At some point, the extremists believed the boy was in a Christian church called Soul.  The Moslem extremists burned down the church.  

 Christians had been protesting already.  They protested more when this one church was burned.  One or two leading Moslem clerics supported the Christians and denounced the church burning.  The Egyptian Army promised to rebuild the church.  Moslems came to the Christian protests to say they supported the Christians.

At a memorial service, a Coptic Christian priest said the Muslims and Christians are brothers.  See NPR news report.  The priest himself stopped a Christian from seeking revenge at a prior protest.  Moslems cannot be categorized anymore than Christians can be. 

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The Department of Justice has filed suit against a school district in Illinois, near Chicago, because the school refused to allow a Moslem teacher time off to go on the Hajj.  The Hajj is a requirement for Moslems who are financially and physically able.  They make a trip to Mecca and pray.  It is said to be a very spiritual journey.  

The teacher asked for unpaid leave twice and was turned down both times.  Believing she had to choose between her religion and her job, she chose her faith.  She quit.  See CBS news report. 

She filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Apparently, the Department of Justice filed suit.  The EEOC found cause.  That is, the EEOC found sufficient basis to believe the school district violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Such cases are then sent to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for review.  Apparently, DOJ filed suit, a rare move. 

It sounds like a good case.  Title VII requires employer to accommodate all religions.  Not allowing her time off would be a pretty clear failure to accommodate.  The school's best defense is usually to claim undue hardship, that the teacher's absence would cause too much hardship for a small district or because she was simply so essential.  

When I was in Iraq, traveling around northeast Iraq, I saw many flags flying from folks' houses, and walled compounds.  Later, I learned they were flags indicating folks who had made the Hajj.  The Arabs even wear different robes based on whether they have made the Hajj or not.  It is no small thing to make the Hajj. 

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 I try to talk on this forum about employment issues and discrimination in general.  Since I am an Iraq veteran, I also discuss the war from time to time, typically simply to note the death of a local soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.  So, when a local governmental entity itself expresses some form of prejudice, I cannot help but notice.  The Texas Board of Education has passed a resolution to limit references to Islam in future textbooks.  The resolution probably has little binding effect on future boards.  See report.  

But, it sends a message.  I fear the message is that Islam itself is "bad," not just the jihadist extremists.   If the TBOE message is that Christianity is good, I agree.  But, I wonder why do we need that particular message for an agency that chooses text books?

When I returned from the Iraq war in 2006, I could not help but notice some anti-Islam comments here at home in the US.  In Iraq, I served with many Iraqi interpreters.  They took the same risks we did.  Indeed, they probably took more risks, since their families were exposed in ways ours never would be.  And, of course, as some readers know, my interpreter, Salma, was killed shortly after I left the country.  When Ansar Al-Sunna killed her, they warned all other translators working with the US to leave their jobs before "we get you."  Yes, the Ansa Al-Sunna terrorists were very brave to attack and seize a five foot tall woman traveling the long, dusty road from Kirkuk to Tikrit.  

I have written here about an interpreter I refer to as Abdul.  Abdul was a wonderful person and very brave.  He was devout.  Salma was not particularly devout.  Like Christians, Moslems come in many flavors and varieties.  So, I have not been able to understand these broad generalizations about Moslems.  I am glad I will never have to explain these stereotypes to Salma.  But, I fear I might have to explain them to Abdul someday.  

Ironically, Abdul would probably smile, shrug and forgive.  The only Moslems who will profit from anti-Islam prejudice are Moslems like Al Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna.  The TBOE resolution is rather "cuckoo" as one member said.  Bit, it will surely aid the terrorist recruiters.  

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I do not understand.  I read polls saying Americans disfavor a mosque near Ground Zero and many Americans prefer not to have any mosque near their homes.  And, yet, I do understand.  If I had not spent 12 months in Iraq serving in the Army and working closely with several Iraqi, Moslem interpreters, I might understand all too well.  But, we are the sum of our experiences.  And, I did serve with some very decent, brave Iraqi, Moslem interpreters.  

I do not have a problem with having one more church, Moslem or not, near Ground Zero.  Once when I was in Iraq, the insurgents attacked and killed tens of worshipers on their way to a large Shiite mosque in Baghdad.  Some 60 people were killed.  I asked Salma, my interpreter, "so they were attacked while going to church?" I asked incredulous.  She nodded, yes.  It took me awhile to appreciate that to Moslems, a mosque is a church.   They are the same. The horror of attacking people for no greater crime than attending church is hard too fathom.  

Salma was not a devout Moslem.  But, I served with two interpreters who were very devout and who were very decent persons.  Their humility, strength, and kindness spoke to me as devout Christians. Yet, they were very Moslem.  

Salma was killed later by the same insurgents who killed many good soldiers.  Probably the same insurgents who killed her brother, a policeman, two years earlier.  Of the two devout Moslem interpreters I served with, one had to quit when the insurgents started to realize he worked for the US.  The other interpreter, I'll call him Abdul, had many, many issues with the insurgents.  Abdul tried to deal with them in "his way," but was ultimately unsuccessful.  He eventually had to flee Iraq.  

Abdul was special.  Once, the Iraqi lady who cleaned our offices came to work with another black eye.  This was not the first time.  Her husband was beating her.  My predecessor officers and NCO's respected her a great deal.  So, they asked Abdul to see if he could stop this.  The story I heard later when I got to country was that Abdul, usually a very kindly sort, hit the husband and told him if his wife came to work again with a black eye, Abdul would kill him. 

This was the same Abdul who would bow slightly whenever greeting someone and say "how are you sir" with the biggest smile.  Abdul was from good family.  He could have been doing anything, but he chose to risk his life and that of his family to better his country.  He never sought favor.  He never complained about the rare instance of rude, disrespectful treatment he received from one or two ignorant soldiers.  Whenever we asked, he would buy us good rugs at good prices in Baghdad.  

To me, like most Americans, I see Ground Zero as sacred ground, much like the Gettysburg battlefield or anywhere where Americans have perished in great numbers simply because they were Americans. 

So, yes, now, after my year in Iraq, I find it strange that some folks get worked up over having one more church, Moslem or otherwise, near Ground Zero.  Because, in my mind, I see people like Abdul worshipping at this or at some other mosque.  And, to me, that would be a good thing. 

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 Early reports (always suspect) are that the shooter at the Ft. Hood massacre was motivated at least in part by some sort of Islam fervor.   See this post also.   But, his cousin was quoted as saying the shooter was very upset by the horrors of war.  Maj. Hassan counseled many soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital.   Through those soldiers, he apparently saw some of the horrors of the Iraq war.  I am sure the counselings had to play some role in the massacre.  As a few vets said in the Nov. 8 edition of the Express-News, something like this was sure to happen sooner or later.  

Still not told in this war is the toll it takes on soldiers, more so than past wars, such as WW II.  Suicides are way up in the Army now, at levels not seen since the end of the Viet Nam war.  The Army was much bigger then.  So, this is a large concern. 

 As I tried to explain to a friend, I do not doubt that "good" Moslems will condemn this massacre.  As Maj Hassan's Imam said, these are not the actions of a good Moslem, at all.  I know.  I served with a couple of truly amazing Moslems in Iraq.  If they were Christian, I would describe them as very, very Christian.  They displayed over the year I knew them a remarkable humility and kindness in the face of great risk and danger. 

Shortly after I left Iraq, my translator was tortured and killed for no greater crime than she worked for the USA. Everytime we went outside the wire, we depended on some Moslem translator and he depended on us,   Yes, Moslems kill.  But, many Moslems risk their lives for us and for their own country. 

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