WASHINGTON — A watchdog group who claims to advocate for religious freedom in the United States Armed Forces (USAF) says the organization is receiving twice as many calls as usual regarding Christian Christmas imagery used at bases, especially in Muslim countries.
In a Nov. 29 article, Newsweek magazine reported that over Thanksgiving weekend, a Bible-shaped cake inscribed with Bible verses was served at an event for service members, families and coalition partners at Al Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar. An Air Force public affairs officer posted a picture of the cake online. After complaints to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), pictures of the cake were deleted.
MRFF also posted a letter on its website from an unnamed Muslim recruit at another Air Force base in an unnamed Muslim nation who said his commander ordered him to don a Santa Claus costume at what he was calling the base Christmas party. After MRFF spoke with base leadership, the party was renamed “holiday party” and the order to wear the suit was rescinded.
The MRFF is an advocacy organization whose stated goals are to “ensure that members of the [USAF] receive the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they are entitled.” The organization’s founder describes the group’s target as “a small subset of fundamentalist Christianity.” (TAB)
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