# American Muslims take a positive stand. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552 "2010-09-03T23:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/1 "2010-09-03T23:26:28Z")
This came as a pleasant and welcome surprise. 🙂 An American Muslim group has denounced a solider that is using his Muslim beliefs to refuse an overseas assignment. > [@](#): > > But the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) says Abdo’s claim is “patently false.” > > “Muslims serve with distinction throughout the United States Military and AIFD sees Abdo’s traitorous public assertions as a slap in the face to all American Muslims especially those Muslims who fight in our armed forces for the liberty and freedom guaranteed by the American Constitution,” the group said in a statement it issued on Friday. [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/02/islamic-group-asks-army-deny-muslim-soldiers-request-conscientious-objector/](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/02/islamic-group-asks-army-deny-muslim-soldiers-request-conscientious-objector/) I agree completely. The guy should have never joined the service if he didn’t want to serve. Some Christians aren’t comfortable with war and they choose not to serve either. Military service is totally voluntary. Don’t sign up and take the paycheck for a year if you aren’t willing to serve. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/2 "2010-09-04T01:01:37Z")
“The group is also asking other American Muslim organizations to speak out and make it clear that no loyal American Muslim should ever seek CO status.” Ever? That seems a bit bizarre to me. The bar is fairly high when you suddenly become one right before going to a war zone, but this group seems to be saying something a bit broader than that. Otara ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/3 "2010-09-04T01:38:07Z")
I’ll be curious how the military handles this guy. Given the political nature it may be better to quietly discharge him and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/4 "2010-09-04T16:28:20Z")
My mother is Mennonite, and I’ve done a little reading on the history of Mennonites in Canada - it takes more to be a Conscientious Objector than just saying you’re one, and you don’t want to study war no more. Maybe he got Muslim and Mennonite confused. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/5 "2010-09-04T19:04:22Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My mother is Mennonite, and I’ve done a little reading on the history of Mennonites in Canada - it takes more to be a Conscientious Objector than just saying you’re one, and you don’t want to study war no more. Maybe he got Muslim and Mennonite confused. 🙂 Not the point. Conscientious Objector status only plays a part when there is a draft. At all other times such people are just labeled “not interested”. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/6 "2010-09-04T19:17:56Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > Conscientious Objector status only plays a part when there is a draft. At all other times such people are just labeled “not interested”. 😕 This guy is already a soldier. It has nothing to do with a draft. Soldiers do not typically have the option to declare disinterest and opt out. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/7 "2010-09-04T20:56:02Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This came as a pleasant and welcome surprise. 🙂 What are you trying to imply about previous actions of American Muslim organizations? Up til now have they been taking a negative stand? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/8 "2010-09-04T21:08:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ll be curious how the military handles this guy. Given the political nature it may be better to quietly discharge him and move on. Really? I hope they execute the guy for trying to get out of his deployment. He knew exactly what he was doing when he joined. He was perfectly fine to accept the benefits and pay until they tried to deploy him. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/9 "2010-09-04T21:56:53Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Really? I hope they execute the guy for trying to get out of his deployment. He knew exactly what he was doing when he joined. He was perfectly fine to accept the benefits and pay until they tried to deploy him. :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: a dishonorable discharge gets him out of the government’s hair and is a pretty serious mark on his employment record. I don’t see where his religion plays any part here. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/10 "2010-09-04T23:33:30Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > > > Conscientious Objector status only plays a part when there is a draft. At all other times such people are just labeled “not interested”. > > 😕 This guy is already a soldier. It has nothing to do with a draft. Soldiers do not typically have the option to declare disinterest and opt out. I know that. You cannot be a Conscientious Objector(at least not in the legal sense) when you voluntarily enlisted yourself. Conscientious Objector status implies coercion. ie: state mandated military service. What I said was, outside of times of draft, people with objections to war simply dont enlist. They are disinterested in fighting. No special status(or entitlement) is needed. I also never said people could get out of service by expressing a lack of interest. All hell would break loose if social contracts could be broken so easily. The soldier in question could not even be a Conscientious Objector in the face of a draft as his particular religion does not have edicts prohibiting violence. Its more clear cut with the Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/11 "2010-09-04T23:42:00Z")
Does that mean an atheist cant be a CO? Otara ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/12 "2010-09-04T23:58:33Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > You cannot be a Conscientious Objector(at least not in the legal sense) when you voluntarily enlisted yourself. [This site](http://cosoldier.org/?page=steps) suggests there’s a way. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-muslims-take-a-positive-stand/552552/13 "2010-09-05T02:41:53Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > > > You cannot be a Conscientious Objector(at least not in the legal sense) when you voluntarily enlisted yourself. > > [This site](http://cosoldier.org/?page=steps) suggests there’s a way. Thats interesting, but there is no indication that it leads anywhere but red tape. I mean, the platoon has 180 days(half a year!) to dawdle. And then they will have to arrange interviews and whatnot. Possibly in a combat theatre? And then deliberate on your fate. How long is a tour of duty?