DIANA WEST: RAMADAN ON OUR BASES

Posted By on August 20th, 2010

http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/1489/Dawa-Uncle-Sam-Style.aspx

Dawa, Uncle Sam-Style?
Written by: Diana West
Friday, August 20, 2010 5:12 AM

The title of the excerped AP report below is “War doesn’t rest for Islam holy month.” But maybe the title should have been “Islam doesn’t rest for war” — as in doesn’t let the war stop its dawa (proselytizing), only now that proselytizing is starting to a bit like Dawa, Uncle Sam-Style.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Afghanistan — “May you have a blessed Ramadan,” reads a poster greeting U.S. troops outside a base mess tent. It refers to Islam’s holiest month, a time of good deeds, prayer and purification of the spirit through sunrise-to-sunset fasting. …

That would be a Happy Ramadan poster on a US base mess hall tent. Just curious: Does the military post Happy Hannukah, Merry X-mas and Yay Diwali (Hindu holiday) posters on mess hall tents as well?

The story goes on to note that jihad-joyous violence by-now traditionally spikes for US troops fighting wars during Ramadan in Dar al-Islam, although so far this season that has not been the case. But there are other Ramadan issues:

…Ramadan does create problems as U.S. forces pursue one of their most urgent priorities — training the Afghan National Army to a level where it could cope with the insurgency when the Americans begin withdrawing next summer. The Afghan soldiers can’t eat or drink during daylight hours, when U.S. soldiers must down bottle after bottle of water to counter the withering heat. As a result, the Americans must scale down the previously intense pace of training and reduce joint patrols.

“The Ramadan schedule is kicking us in the butt, but it’s also significant for the motivation and morale of the Afghan soldiers,” says Benchoff, who nightly joins his Afghan counterpart as he breaks fast with a meal of goat and rice. U.S. troops are told to minimize eating and drinking in front of the Afghans, who in turn have offered them instructions on Ramadan’s meaning and practices.

You could almost ask who’s training whom.

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