The Real Gitmo War On Terror: In their rush to bash the Bush administration, apologize for Islam and maintain their claim to the mantle of tolerance, the media elite have missed the real story of Guantanamo Bay. To wit: Far from disrespecting the faith of Muslim detainees at Gitmo, the U.S. catered to their religious needs. Yes, the Pentagon now confirms a few cases in which the Quran was accidentally mishandled by guards at the prison for terror suspects. But the bizarre fact that al-Qaida and Taliban enemy combatants were even supplied Qurans is lost on the liberal media. No German prisoners during WWII were provided copies of "Mein Kampf," for example. Yet the military passed out 1,300 paperback copies of the Muslim holy book in 13 languages to Gitmo detainees. It also gave them prayer beads to finger. But don't stop there. Gitmo command even served prisoners Muslim-approved meals free of pork. And none of this was done after the International Red Cross complained of mistreatment. It was original policy. In March 2002, the Pentagon brought in a Muslim chaplain by the name of Abuhena Saifulislam to minister to Gitmo prisoners around the clock. He called them to prayer, privately ministered to them in Arabic and Urdu and trained Gitmo guards to respect Muslim customs. In a touching gesture, Saifulislam even recommended that prisoners be treated to a traditional meal of dates and lamb during one major Muslim holiday. They got their feast. In short, we bent over backward to honor their religious customs. Gulag? More like Dar al-Gitmo. Still, now that the Pentagon has confirmed some cases of Quran mishandling (though not the toilet-flushing incident Newsweek first reported), suspicions are growing throughout the Muslim world that it was part of official U.S. interrogation policy designed to rattle Muslim detainees. That couldn't be further from the truth. If a few rogue guards mishandled the Quran, they went against official policy, which called for using prisoners' sacred book and other religious "comfort items" as incentives for cooperation. Gitmo brass even let many of them keep their bushy beards, which Islamists wear as a sign of devotion to their faith - even though forced grooming is standard operating procedure in prisons to control for lice and weapons. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered U.S. troops not to do anything to express or display their religion in the presence of Muslims, lest we offend them. So the bad guys behind barbed wire can be religious - but not our soldiers guarding them. And here's the most outrageous part: Though desecrating holy books isn't official policy in the U.S., it is in many of the Muslim countries that continue to condemn the U.S. for minor Gitmo incidents by rogue MPs. In Saudi Arabia, for one, religious police shred Bibles brought into that country by Christians. For that matter, they're known to even confiscate books brought in by Muslim pilgrims traveling to Mecca if they espouse doctrines counter to Wahhabism, the kingdom's official religion. Perhaps these countries should first remove the log from their own eyes before rioting over the speck in ours. Contrary to reports, our PC-obsessed military went overboard to respect the faith of al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists at Gitmo - ironically nourishing the very source of the murderous hatred that got them locked up there in the first place. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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