From the Front Line: Sharia Compliance in the US Military

By Pamela Geller @ American Thinker

I recently received this shocking letter from a man who has served as a contractor in Afghanistan.  It reveals the appalling extent of sharia compliance in the United States military.

My name is John Craig. I have been a contractor in Afghanistan for over five years as a mechanical engineer. Recently I have been dismissed by the command of Bagram Air Field and lost my job. I am in Kuwait and in route to go home and find another job.  

The reason I was expelled from the base is because I had two copies of the Koran. One was a hardback study book and the other a paperback Koran; it is my interest to study the religion in and of itself and take notes.  

Well, what happened was that I wrote notes and highlighted throughout the books and came to the conclusion that the doctrine itself is that of murder, rape, and extortion. That is my personal view of the religion.  

Well, dumb me, I wrote on the paperback Koran in black marker right on the front – RELIGION OF MURDER. That is what I think of it. The Command M.P. (military police) did an inspection in our rooms and were searching for General Order 1 violations; it's normal procedure finding drugs, alcohol, and pornographic material. Well, in this search, they found my study Korans (under my bed) out of sight and out of view of others, and called me in to investigate why I had marked on the Koran RELIGION OF MURDER.  

I went to the police station and wrote an essay on my reasons for having the books and why I wrote that. I explained to them that this was all for personal study and not meant for sharing with others, especially with Muslims. I do not preach, evangelize or try to talk to Muslims about their religious beliefs. I am simply there trying to make a living for my family and have no intention of ever sharing my beliefs.  

The Command did not see it that way. The following day, the leadership of my company called me in and read a letter from the Air Force Colonial Command, stating that I was permanently barred from the military base there in Afghanistan and that I was to leave immediately. The charge was that I was "in possession of prohibited material." So it did not define my marking on the book; it just said I had something that was in violation of their General Order 1.  

The colonel said that my presence there was a security threat and a disruption of the good conduct of personnel on the base and that I had to leave. In addition, I will not be able to work anywhere with the military, either there or in Kuwait or Iraq, or with any other branch in the military service.  

Apparently, he has even gone as far as put me on a watch list, which is called "red flagging." Even though I have a security clearance, I am being watched as if I were a terrorist in case I might cause some kind of violence or something. When I left the following night, I had a Military Police escort to the airport. Two men followed me right up to the airplane to see for themselves that I was in the airplane and seated. I never thought I would be treated like the Taliban. They were ordered to keep an eye on me and not to let me out of their sight.  

I do not know how far this is going to escalate. It appears to me that this is the Obama administration: they have made federal regulations to punish anyone who insults or criticizes the Islamic faith and are making an example of said individuals. I have done nothing wrong. Those books were mine. I purchased them, and I can do what I want with what is mine. I was not going around voicing my opinions about Islam. I even have a good friend there in the company who is a Muslim, and I do not insult him or tell him he is wrong. It's all just a hobby to me, to study region and political science.  

The federal government might push this farther and try to get some kind of criminal charges against me. I have been advised not to talk much or say much by people in the company, because they are hearing things but will not tell me. My manager told me that he called corporate, and they told him this was an extremely serious charge against me, that I am being fired on this insult to Islam charge, and that I will lose my clearance and be punished for my graffiti on these books.

This is shameful and outrageous.  That an American patriot would be treated this way for exercising his freedom of speech is an indication of how far we have fallen under Obama.  Today it is John Craig; tomorrow it could be any other defender of freedom.  This must be stopped – now.