Muslim Soldier Says He’s Conscientious Objector – Pfc. Naser Abdo To Refuse Deployment
From WSMV.com:
Muslim Soldier Says He’s Conscientious Objector
Pfc. Naser Abdo To Refuse Deployment
Originally posted on August 29, 2010. Reporter Carley Gordon contributed to this story.
A U.S. Army soldier wants to leave the military service as a conscientious objector based on his beliefs as a Muslim, but he said he’s concerned he may be deployed to Afghanistan anyway.Pfc. Naser Abdo, a 20-year-old infantryman assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., said Monday that if the military orders him to deploy, he will refuse to go despite the fact that it may result in a military charge against him.”We have two things that I believe make us American: That’s freedom of religion and freedom of choice,” Abdo told Channel 4 News. “I’ve come to the conclusion that the consequences I would face of refusing deployment are a lot less than the consequences I would face should I go. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if I deployed.”
Full story:
When you join the military they ask you if you are a conscientious objector before they ever spend money on training you. You sign the papers saying whether you are or not at the recruiters office. If you sign yes you go no further and if you say no then you go to MEPS and sign the paperwork to begin your military career. Based on his age he knew he would be deploying to the Middle East. Before anyone else decides they want the “free college” and joins the military do your homework and see what the purpose of the military is.
For the safety and well being of everyone around him, he should be commended for speaking before he endagers anyone else.
But I also , if this is his beliefs do not understand how you ended up in our military as well. Because this was a conflict of your beliefs from day one if this is how you feel.
I would most definitely not want you to be covering my loved ones back..
As a Christian minister and a Divinity professor who teaches theology and ethics I have worked closely with people from all walks of life dealing with serious moral struggles. It is my experience that most people’s beliefs and sense of morality often change during the course of a lifetime. Why should it be any different for soldiers? I think people can sign up for the military with great moral integrity and then have a change of heart with equal moral integrity. I personally find it extremely offensive to assume that soldiers applying for CO have tried to get a free college tuition and did not do their homework signing up for the military. Please be respectful on this forum. I think any human being living in a democracy should have the right to his/her own conscience at any moment. Soldiers are taught to respect moral deliberation in their training. We would not want soldiers not to reflect ethically on what they are doing. If in good conscience their moral perspective changes we should be respectful of that just as we want people to respect our own moral deliberation processes. Signing up for the military should not be seen as a form of slavery in a democratic country.