The Army disinvited the Rev. Franklin Graham from praying at the Pentagon because he might offend Muslim soldiers. But isn’t that the same attitude that led to the Fort Hood massacre?
The Army didn’t want to offend a Muslim soldier — Maj. Nidal Hasan — who openly threatened “infidels” in Islamic diatribes. Brass ignored his jihadist rants and treated him with kid gloves. Hasan later opened fire on soldiers.
An internal Pentagon probe mentioned none of this, so no one should be surprised that the painful lesson of Fort Hood has not been learned — that catering to militant Muslims does not win their hearts and minds. In fact, it can embolden them.
In the latest chapter of military PC, the Pentagon canceled the appearance of Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, at an upcoming National Day of Prayer event because of Muslim complaints over his past “inappropriate” remarks about Islam.
After the 9/11 attacks, Graham described Islam as “a very evil and wicked religion.” He explained that he thought it was his “responsibility to speak out against the terrible deeds that are committed as a result of Islamic teaching.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on its supporters to pressure the Pentagon to withdraw its May 6 prayer invitation to Graham. CAIR hailed the Pentagon’s cave-in as a “victory.”
No matter the circumstances, bowing to such a radical group — one with proven terror ties — is a new low in political correctness, even for the Army.
Another group, the liberal Military Religious Freedom Foundation, joined CAIR in complaining about the “Islamophobic” Graham. It argued that the Pentagon showed religious favoritism toward Christianity in inviting him.
Really? The Pentagon holds annual Iftar dinners for Muslims and is building mosques for them. It’s also actively recruiting Muslim soldiers, even after the Fort Hood betrayal, and offering them leave for Islamic holidays.
Yet letting an evangelical preacher pray is too “Christian-themed”? Please. If the Pentagon favors any faith these days, it’s Islam.
Our military leadership has been impaired by a PC culture that blinds it to even internal Islamic threats. Now comes this affront to one of the nation’s leading evangelicals, who has boldly warned about such threats.
As it happens, President Obama met over the weekend with the 91-year-old Billy Graham at his North Carolina home as part of a pre-scheduled meeting. Out of respect for the elder Graham, the commander in chief ought to overrule the Pentagon and re-invite his son to speak on the National Day of Prayer.
But given this president’s obsession with apologizing to the Muslim world, we won’t hold our breath.