First up from The God Machine this week is a disconcerting story out of Base Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, where a U.S. soldier has found that his religious liberty is being squelched by his superior officers.
A soldier in Iraq whose superior prevented him from holding a meeting for atheists and other non-Christians is suing the Defense Department, claiming it violated his right to religious freedom.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges a pattern of practices that discriminate against non-Christians in the military…. According to the filing, Spec. Jeremy Hall, a soldier assigned to Fort Riley’s 97th Military Police Battalion, received permission to distribute fliers around his base in Iraq for a meeting of atheists and other non-Christians.
When he tried to convene the meeting, Hall claims, [Maj. Paul Welborne] stepped in, threatening to file military charges against Hall and block his reenlistment.
It gets worse. Apparently, after Hall met with fellow non-believers on the base, Major Welborne allegedly disrupted the gathering, blasted the attendees, and threatened to bring an action against Hall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
As my friends at AU put it, “Americans have different views on the Iraq War, but I think most people would agree that the men and women serving there are bravely putting their lives on the line and deserve the full protection of the Constitution. They should be able to organize and attend religious or non-religious meetings without harassment from higher-ups.”
Sounds like a no-brainer.
Other items from the God Machine this week:
* AFP reported that the pope doesn’t want to talk to the Bush administration right now: “Pope Benedict XVI refused to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in August, saying he was on holiday, an Italian newspaper reported Wednesday. Rice ‘made it known to the Vatican that she absolutely had to meet the pope’ to boost her diplomatic ‘credit’ ahead of a trip to the Middle East, the Corriere della Sera daily reported without citing its sources…. It said the reply ‘illustrated the divergence of view’ between the Vatican and the White House about the ‘initiatives of the Bush administration in the Middle East.'”
* Airport officials in Indianapolis are considering a proposal to place special sinks for Muslims in airport bathrooms. The Rev. Jerry Hillenburg, a prominent Baptist pastor in the city who lost a son serving in Iraq, is organizing opposition to the plan. In a letter to the mayor, Hillenburg said he and his supporters “oppose the fraternization with our open enemies during a time of war.”
* Time magazine has a painful report on a courtroom drama in St. George, Utah, involving a rape trial. What makes the case unusual is that the accused is Warren Jeffs, the 51-year-old prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, who is being tried as an accomplice to rape for commanding two teenaged cousins to get married.
* The U.S. State Department hopes to help win hearts and minds in the Muslim world by utilizing a “Digital Outreach Team” — a team of Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu speakers who post to prominent online discussion groups with a pro-Western perspective. In every instance, there is full disclosure — participants know that the team is paid by the State Department. “Brent E. Blaschke, the project director, said the idea was to reach ‘swing voters,’ whom he described as the silent majority of Muslims who might sympathize with Al Qaeda yet be open to information about United States government policy and American values.”