Not all issues are resolved to simply black and white. I have found that life is composed mostly of different shades of grey.
Years ago, as a Muslim American man, Mansoor Shams decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps: to fulfill his duties to both his country and his faith. What conflict of interest?
He’s not the only one. Countless other Muslim men and women have served, and continue to serve, in our armed forces, willing to lay down their lives for the nation they love and call home: America. That’s why we’re highlighting their powerful stories here.
I firmly believe that Islam is a disease of the mind. However, there were moments during my deployments when my very existence was dependent upon the deeds of men who were Muslim. These things are not easy for most of us to resolve. I can respect the messenger without respecting the message…so long as the messenger is capable of respecting me. I respect what Mansoor Shams is doing and he is getting criticism from both extremes. I have no respect for his religion…it is a disease of the mind.
Semper Fidelis my brother.
Episode 7 on the issue is enlightening.
Comments
40 responses to ““I’m a Muslim Marine, Ask Me Anything.””
As a helo aircrew, and later P-3s, my life was in the hands of the maintainers and other support folks on every flight. I had to trust their skills and professionalism. Of course I looked out for #1 as well, it’s called preflight.
The point is, I trusted them to make sure my landings equaled my takeoffs, and I didn’t particularity care what they did in their free time.
JMHO, YMMV
Shack
^word^ Trust is a very fragile state. It has to be earned.
That’s why one of my skippers held hangar deck Mast for three maintainers who were caught gundecking fuel samples. They violated the trust.
The guy that packed your chute.
The crane op when you’re in the man seat. Your coworker on the tower.
The surgeon replacing your hip.
That ugly foriegn born guy setting the mortar fuze……
Glad to read the last few lines of his statement that islam is a disease of the mind…RIGHT ON! I have read just enough of the quoran to know it is a lie from the pits of hell, written by a lazy pedophile that married a rich woman so he wouldn’t have to work for a living, and the writer of a fictitious book, much of which was stolen from the Hebrew Bible…Glad this Marine recognizes that fact! PTL!
Teddy Roosevelt also covered this in his famous 1914 NYC “Hyphenated American” speech. His bottom line: so long as an individual gave his primary allegiance to America, the individual’s religious preferences and ethnic heritage were irrelevant.
TR had it right.
The job is of primary importance, especially in this case.
Religion is secondary.
That’s the theory, anyway. Major Hasan disagrees.
And Sgt. Asan Akbar.
Any muslim who places loyalty to America above absolute devotion to the words and commands of the prophet (a pox upon him) is by definition an apostate or shirk (now you know where the concept of “shirker came from).
Any Muslim who obeys the orders of an “infidel” to fight against a declared jihad is guilty of shirk.
Shirk (apostasy) is the unforgivable sin in Islam.
So, no, they are not actually muslims after they decide that there may be higher loyalties than the ramblings of a pedophile.
On a side note, why do those who wish to lead people to genocidal outcomes always seem to be sexual predators?
Actually, no. Obedience to temporal authority is an issue in Islam, albeit not as great as in Christianity.
Quite a few Shiite imams hold that religious figures should concentrate on religious issues, and allow temporal leaders to govern.
I like that Muslim Marine tag. He’s not a Marine. He’s a Muslim Marine. That’s great. I don’t give a shit, I just like the tag.
Hyphenated Marine? Didn’t know there was such a thing.
Zactly. There is now, I guess.
You are either a U.S. Marine, or you are not. Hyphens are not authorized.
It is a disease of the mind, just like communism/progtardism. Once they become true believers in their religion/political ideology they become like Stepford wives or members of the Borg. They adopt a belief and value system which objective facts and history can’t seem to shake. It is like they live in some parallel universe where the evil, human misery, and deaths their belief system has caused never happened.
Muslims agree that people are the children of God, and they are ignorant enough to think that Almighty God will reward them for killing his children?
Why just Islam and communism being griped about here? I can think of several religions and ideologies that are a clusterf#ck for the rest of us to deal with.
Seems like the regulars here just like people that believe the same things they do and blame everyone else for everything wrong in the world.
You must not know Dave Hardin, he gripes about all religions equally. Thank you for placing us all in the same boat though.
Yeah, he’s kinda like Bill Maher in that respect. 🙂
Can’t think of any other religions that want to kill me outside of Islam. Although the Mormons get pretty feisty in their attempts to bring me back to their flock.
“Why just Islam and communism being griped about here?”
They are both enemies of individual freedom.
All of the above, specially being in the same boat with Dave Hardin. I’m honored to be in such company. Does that mean I get a gorgeous Soviet that will make me “do things”? It’s obvious to us there Miss Crhulhu that you ain’t from around here. Get your panties unwadded and go read the FNG/FAQ section, The old birds of a feather thing is going on here. In my years of traveling, I usually picked a hotel/motel with decent rooms/service, a good restaurant either attached or close by, and a bar/lounge. Since that was to be my home for several days or weeks, and I knew that I would be coming back again on business; I picked one that I liked. I might have to visit several in that city to find the one that I meshed with; people and services. Think about it.
Be careful what you ask for…they tend to gang up on you.
You have been warned, I will not be responsible for any injuries.
Hand firmly on wallet, I shuffle on by.
It only hurts at first
Dave’s driving, I’m shotgun and Yef is in back.
*grin*
Bring me one, bring me that one, the sultry one, the one with fire in her eyes, and hellz to the yes bring her buddy too. Can’t get scared. It always was their doctrine, to gang up, combined arms assault, bring the whole clan; not much of a fight in me, would go ahead and surrender, throw myself upon their mercies. You boys is teasing the old man. Can they cook too. No matter, Waffle House right up the road, just go to you get past the Big Chicken. Heavily insured with major medical.
Yeah there is a Mormon hit squad out there right now trying to get me. They have to beat out the Baptists Lady commando first. And then there is that Lutheran pot luck hit man-tries to get you with his donuts. I would even mention what the Amish have done, disguising their hit team as a bunch of quilters.
Yeah they much, much worse than Islam. And don’t get me started on the Little Sisters of the Poor.
My favorite graduate of the US Naval Academy had this to say
“Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically, into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from the highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.”
I’ll take the curmudgeon’s thank you.
Curmudgeons? Made that list a while back, I think.
Was that USNA grad Lex?
Robert Heinlein.
Lars? I thought you were banned.
I can’t recall ever having a discussion on religion during my service. Cause nobody cared. Just do your job.
Except that one time the guy we called “choir boy” cause he was such a no-swearing straight arrow admitted he was actually in his church choir.
This is an interesting read on a guy I served with.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/first-muslim-green-beret-special-forces
Thanks, Tony180A. Interesting read. The disaster in Iran’s desert pretty much ended Carter’s presidency; glad Changiz Lahidji made it out. This is movie worthy stuff that will never be filmed.
I can remember the 5th Group CSM almost having a heart attack when he found out Changiz had worked out a deal to go to 1st Group when they were reactivated. Losing a native born Farsi speaker with his skill sets to a Group working in the Pacific and Asia did not go over well.
Yes Changiz was bad ass! He flew out of yellow ramp Pope AFB on singletons on multiple occasions.
As far as I know, the Muslims have made no effort to reconcile why their dude Mohammed married a 6 year old then had sex with her when she was 9.