U.S. Army Makes Soldiers “Culturally Literate” About Islam

In this new era of political correctness, the U.S. Army has published a special handbook for soldiers that appears to justify Islamic jihad by describing it as the “communal military defense of Islam and Muslims when they are threatened or under attack.”

Because radical Muslim groups consider Islam to be perpetually under moral, spiritual, economic, political and military attack by the “secular west” they consider military jihad a “constant necessity” and use it as a “rallying cry to resist and attack all this is un-Islamic,” according to the new Army manual.

The handbook was created to help soldiers become “culturally literate” ambassadors with sensitivity and understanding of Islamic civilization. The goal is to help them understand how vital culture is in accomplishing military missions. Military personnel who have a distorted picture of a host culture make enemies for the United States. At least that’s what the publication (“Culture Cards: Afghanistan & Islamic Culture”) says. An organization of scientists dedicated to national and international security issues discovered the new Army tool and published it on its website a few days ago.  

The manual has nearly three dozen informative chapters dedicated to subjects such as Muslim taboos, the five pillars if Islam, Jihad, the Quran and Muslim festivals. There are also sections on ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and social norms and mores. The lengthy introduction defines cultural competency—awareness and sensitivity of another group—and social norms and mores in Arab countries.

The portion on jihad is especially interesting because it’s described as a wide-ranging term that includes the everyday spiritual and moral struggle to live a life submitted to God, the attempt to spread Islam by education and example, and the communal military defense of Islam and Muslims when they are threatened or under attack. Today radical Muslim groups consider Islam to be perpetually under attack by the “secular West” – morally, spiritually, economically, politically and militarily, the Army handbook says. They thus consider military jihad as a constant necessity, and use jihad as a rallying cry to resist and attack all that is un-Islamic.

At the end of each section there is a question that’s supposed to stimulate “critical thinking.” At the end of the jihad section the question is: “How can the concept of jihad add legitimacy to the claims and aims of Al Qaeda and others? It would certainly be interesting to see how most enlisted men and women, or American civilians for that matter, would answer that particular question.

The new Army manual concludes by revealing all the things that make soldiers “culturally literate.” Among them are appreciating and accepting diverse beliefs, appearances and lifestyles, understanding the dangers of stereotyping and ethnocentrism and understanding Islamic and jihadist cultures.