A Muslim soldier from Fort Campbell has been approved as a conscientious objector to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that status is on hold now that he’s been charged with possession of child pornography.
Pfc. Naser Abdo, a 21-year-old infantry soldier, applied for the status last year after he decided Islamic standards would prohibit his service in the U.S. Army in any war. The Deputy Assistant Secretary, Army Review Boards Agency, recommended he be separated from the Army as a conscientious objector. But the discharge is delayed until the criminal charge is resolved.
He faces an Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury, today at the installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line. The hearing will determine whether he will face a court-martial. Abdo said he intends to fight the charge, which he believes is part of ongoing discrimination against him within the Army.
“It is because I am a conscientious objector and am fighting against going to Afghanistan that I have been charged with this crime,” he said.
A statement provided by the Fort Campbell public affairs office said his application to be a conscientious objector and the child pornography charge are unrelated.
When he joined the Army in 2009, Abdo said he initially felt he could be a soldier and a Muslim at the same time. But he said his understanding of Islam changed as he went through training ahead of a planned deployment to Afghanistan and he worried whether going to war was the right thing to do.
He filed his paperwork requesting a discharge last year as the rest of his unit, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, was fighting in Afghanistan. In his request, he stated that other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim.
The military charge says 34 images of child pornography were found on a computer he used, a violation of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Abdo was notified of the charge in May.
Abdo said he used the computer during his training course to learn Pashto, an Afghan language, and turned the computer back over to the military once he was removed from the course.
Abdo’s attorney, James Branum said anyone could have used the computer after Abdo turned it over, but they will learn more about the evidence against Abdo during today’s hearing.
“He is a very devout and practicing Muslim so I find it hard to believe,” Branum said of the charge.
Abdo said he has put his faith in God to see him through the criminal charge.
“If God wants it to happen, it will happen, so overall I am thankful,” he said.
More details as they develop online and in Thursday’s News Sentinel.