Army: Soldiers can wear turbans, beards, hijabs

hijab

This is Hijab as opposed to Niqab. The Muslim Times supports modest dressing and head covering or Hijab. But, we want it to be individual choice rather than a state’s mandate. For the Muslim Times’ collection about Hijab, please click here

Source: RNS

By

WASHINGTON (RNS) New Army regulations will allow soldiers to wear turbans, beards and hijabs under most circumstances, reflecting a change Sikhs have sought for years.

“Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined that brigade-level commanders may approve requests for these accommodations,” wrote Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning in a Tuesday (Jan. 3) memo.

In March, the Army concluded that permitting beards for medical reasons but banning them for religious reasons is a discriminatory bar to service for Sikhs, who are forbidden by their faith to cut their hair and beards.

With that decision, Capt. Simratpal Singh, a West Point graduate and Bronze Star recipient, was the first to win Army approval to continue on active duty while maintaining his religiously mandated beard and turban.

Read more

Leave a Reply