Last week, Newser reported that Nidal Hasan, suspect in the shooting at Fort Hood that killed 13 people, was removed from court because he had failed to shave his beard, after being warned in a previous trial that the beard violates Army policy. Hasan insists that his beard is an integral part of his Islamic faith and refuses to shave it.
In another appearance in front of military judge Col. Gregory Gross, Hasan was fined $1000 and warned that if he didn’t shave his beard by the start of jury selection he will be forcibly shaved. ABC Action News reports:
Col. Gregory Gross has been telling Hasan he must shave, in accordance with Army regulations. Hasan, who is a Muslim, has refused to shave for more than a month, apparently in keeping with Quranic teachings…
Even though Hasan has been in custody since November 2009 when 13 people were shot and killed at the U.S. Army installation outside Killeen, Texas, he is still in the Army and still draws his pay.
What do you think of the forcible shaving of Nidal Hasan? Do his rights to express his religion trump Army regulations?
Or did Hasan surrender those rights when he agreed to enter the Army and draw pay as such?
AP Photo/Jack Plunkett
I think the 2nd amendment protects his right to bare beard.
I’m wildly guessing – could this be a means of getting him discharged before the trial?
Sikhs, who have a long and storied history if military service, are required to nit cut their hair or beard. As much as this man is a loathsome person, they really should not be able to force him.
Our military is all-volunteer. Want to grow a beard? Don’t sign up. And certainly don’t whine about regulations that you could have avoided at any point by just quitting.
I would say that since his beard presents no hazards (like say going out in the field of combat and getting snagged on a branch or an enemy pulling in a fight) he shouldn’t be forced to shave it and he certainly should not be forcibly shaved.
What I want to know is why on Earth he is still a member of the military? He’s getting paid to sit in prison and await trial for killing 13 people?
So they can try him in military court rather than civilian court, at least that’s my guess.
Well I was thinking that but I kinda figured that if awaiting trial they would suspend his pay but still have him as a member of the military. They do that with cops (sometimes) where when they are under investigation or something they will be put on unpaid leave.