Introduction

Abstract

It took me a while to realize the full meaning of what the chaplain had handed me. He was a Christian, and I had asked him about his experience working with Muslims in the military. He didn’t stop talking while he made the photocopy, so I just glanced at it and tucked it away; only when I got home did I read it carefully. It was a memo sent to the chiefs of chaplains about the Muslim holiday of Eid. The memo explained that Eid was a festival of fast-breaking at the end of Ramadan, provided the relevant dates, suggested ways to accommodate Muslims as they prepared to celebrate, and ended, “As in the past, a liberal leave policy is recommended.” What struck me wasn’t just the matter-ofcourse attention paid to a religious minority’s needs. What really stood out was the header: the memo had been sent from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon on October 18, 2001.