Christian Chaplain Dismissed; Muslim Chaplain Promoted
By Chuck Baldwin (01/23/07)
Chaplain Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt has been court-martialed and dismissed from the U.S. Navy. His crime? Praying in Jesus' name in uniform outside a chapel. You read it right. After 15 1/2 years of exemplary service, Lt. Klingenschmitt is being drummed out of the Navy.
Understand that Klingenschmitt has a meritorious military record. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and spent 11 years as an Air Force missile officer. He was promoted to the rank of Major and was offered a job at the Pentagon at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. However, Klingenschmitt wanted to be a chaplain. As such, he willingly took a demotion in order to serve in the U.S. Navy as a chaplain at the rank of Lieutenant.
Chaplain Klingenschmitt served in the Persian Gulf. While there, he and his men won 6 awards, including Best in the Navy, for outstanding Community Service. But now this fine Christian man is being discharged. He is losing his career (not to mention a million-dollar pension) for the "crime" of praying in Jesus' name.
I recently interviewed Chaplain Klingenschmitt on my radio program and invite readers to listen to that interview at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/Interview_Klingenschmitt.html
Now, compare what the Navy has done to Lt. Klingenschmitt to this report
> from World Net Daily. "[T]he Pentagon recently promoted a Wahhabi-trained
Muslim chaplain who catered to al-Qaida detainees at Guantanamo and fought to establish the first Mosque in Marine Corps history."
According to WND, "Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England personally promoted Navy chaplain Abuhena Mohammed Saifulislam from lieutenant to lieutenant commander. Saifulislam also received a Joint Service Commendation Medal at the Pentagon ceremony held on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Pentagon officials say the ceremony was unprecedented. 'It's unusual for a deputy secretary to personally promote an officer of that rank,' said one official who wished to go unnamed. 'No one has known of such a high-level dignitary doing that.'"
Furthermore, the WND report stated, "England also earlier this year personally dedicated a new Islamic center at Marine headquarters in Quantico, Va., on the advice of Saifulislam . . ."
Now get this: "The Muslim chaplain, who is stationed at Quantico, recited verses from the Quran in Arabic and English at the summer dedication ceremony, which included representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, several leaders of which have been convicted on terrorism-related charges."
Yet, it gets worse. According to the WND report, "Saifulislam, which is Arabic for 'Sword of Islam,' received his religious training at a radical Islamic school raided by federal agents after 9/11." Terror expert Paul Sperry said, "The Pentagon is giving him a permanent, taxpayer-supported platform from which to convert grunts to Islam." He also said, "With the Quantico mosque, the Pentagon is facilitating the study of the holy text the enemy uses, heretically or not, as their manual of warfare."
This kind of idiocy is what happens when presidents and their subordinates become consumed with political correctness. Logic, common sense, character, and appreciation for truth are thrown out the window. And good men such as Lt. Klingenschmitt must bear the brunt of it all.
Readers should know that since Chaplain Klingenschmitt's dismissal, public outcry convinced the Pentagon to reverse its policy of punishing chaplains who pray in Jesus' name. Unfortunately, the decision is not being grandfathered back to Klingenschmitt's case, and he is still being drubbed out of the Navy.
If you listen to my interview with Lt. Klingenschmitt, you will immediately be aware that this is a good man, a fine Christian patriot who is being unjustly punished. He is not bitter. However, seeking to be reinstated, he has hired The Rutherford Institute to represent him in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy. I urge my fellow Americans to pray that God will vindicate the good chaplain and that he will be restored to his former position and rank. You might want to let your congressman know of this injustice, as well.
I wonder how many more Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitts and Judge Roy Moores will have to be sacrificed before America comes to its senses?
(c) Chuck Baldwin
Please visit Chuck's web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
This column is archived at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070123.html
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