Last week, Mikey Weinstein, head of the organization “Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)” was sent an email request from US military members of the Muslim Community :
We request the assistance of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation with a matter that concerns all Americans. As Muslim members of the U.S. military and the Pentagon worship community, we are dumbfounded that the Pentagon Chaplain’s Oce has invited Mr. Franklin Graham to be the guest speaker at the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon on May 6, 2010.
Seven years ago, the Pentagon Chaplain’s Oce invited Mr. Graham to speak at the Pentagon, dismissing the concerns of the Pentagon Muslim worship community, as well as those of the Muslim community at large. At that time, the Pentagon chaplain claimed a lack of knowledge of Mr. Graham’s opinions on Islam and Muslims. A current Pentagon chaplain made the same claim and dismissed our concerns by stating that Mr. Graham’s comments are old news anyway.
Mr. Weinstein responded to their request by sending a letter to the Pentagon, where he elaborated on the comments that are” old news.” This was picked up by the AP/New York Times:
After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Graham said Islam ”is a very evil and wicked religion.” In a later op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, Graham wrote that he did not believe Muslims were evil because of their faith, but ”as a minister …. I believe it is my responsibility to speak out against the terrible deeds that are committed as a result of Islamic teaching.”
And in response to the AP reporter on yesterday’s piece, Graham (through his spokesman) clarified how “old news” those comments really are:
Graham hasn’t changed his views on Islam, said his spokesman, Mark DeMoss.
In other words, the soldiers who contacted Mikey Weinstein had very good reasons to do so.
For those who may require some background: the “Military Religious Freedom Foundation” was formed by Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, a 1977 graduate of the Air Force Academy with a distinguised 10-yr career as a “JAG” (military) attorney. Mr. Weinstein is a registered Republican who also spent over three years in the West Wing during the Reagan Administration as White House legal counsel. “Mikey” formed MRFF as a direct response to the “systemic problem of religious intolerance throughout the United States armed forces.”
Recently, MRFF seems to have hit its stride as they broke a huge story about ”Jesus Rifles” — military-issue guns with biblical verses secretly etched into their sites by a contractor and unknowingly carried by our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the same month, the organization was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, to be decided at the end of the year. Mikey and his organization have distinguished themselves as the defenders of those in the military whose religious beliefs are often not respected…even ridiculed…by the dominant right-wing Christian military culture.
<snip - Franklin Graham interview>
Many things struck me about this interview but several of them are worth noting:
1) I was horrified by his blatant attempts to encourage his followers to unleash their anger on the Pentagon and/or the folks doing the complaining: “It would be a slap at Christians…” “I just think it would be a slap in the face…” “It would be a real offense…” “It would be a great mistake…” Clearly, Mr. Graham has benefited from his association with Sarah Palin at least in how to generate hate AND how to play the victim card.
2) The way Graham kept repeating his ”love for the Muslim people” reminded me of someone who claims not to be racist because they have “black friends.”
3) I don’t believe I’ve EVER heard a public radio reporter actually lose their cool during an interview…however, the female reporter sure seemed to with the comment: “You do seem to be saying, though, there’s a place for prostelytizing at the Pentagon.” I can’t blame her…the first time I heard this interview, I was so outraged I started making phone calls.
I decided I wanted to make it easier for you to do the same thing.
After some research, I was able to find the correct contact number if we want to state our outrage at how our military personnel are being treated.
CALL:
Public Affairs/Public Communications: 703-571-3343
The event is on May 6th and according to the website, it takes five days to respond to phone calls. I strongly encourage folks to make a call or two ASAP and let them know how you feel. After the icy reception I got from the Pentagon Switchboard Operator, I can promise it won’t be easy. However, any step we can take to fight Theocracy is worth it.
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