Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan just won a small Jihadist victory; he was successful in delaying pre-trial motions by not shaving off his beard prior to appearing before the judge.
Via MSNBC:
The judge in the trial of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan delayed pre-trial motions Friday when he ruled the defendant to be in violation of the Army’s grooming standards.
Hasan showed up for the half-day administrative hearing sporting a beard, which the military prosecutors said was a violation of Army regulation 670-1 and court-martial rule 804(4)(1). Judge Col. Gregory Gross then went on record saying that Hasan’s beard was a disruption to the proceedings.
“It is a disruption. The judge felt it was,” Fort Hood media officer Chris Haug told msnbc.com. “He’s in violation of the Army’s dress and grooming standards.”
If it is a violation of Army regulations for Hasan to have a beard, why was he allowed to set foot in the courtroom with one on his face? Isn’t that the more important question?
The moment the judge ruled that the motions would be delayed because Hasan grew a beard is the moment that Hasan was victorious in Jihad, which comes in all shapes, matters, and forms. Sometimes it involves killing infidels and other times it involves incremental victories through obstinance and subtle intimidation.
How is it possible for a Jihadist – who murdered 14 Americans (Francheska Velez was pregnant) in what should be considered an act of war – to successfully use Jihad with the judge? Who’s in charge??
Hasan’s seemingly minor act of Jihad (not shaving) appears to have opened some other doors for him as well. His defense team wants an exception for their client:
The defense indicated it would file a request for exception to the policy for religious accommodation for Hasan, an American-born Muslim, to the Department of the Army. There was no indication how long it would take for a decision to be made on such a request.
The pre-trial motions will resume when Hasan adheres to the Army regulation or when a closed-circuit feed can be set up for him to observe the trial from a different location, the military said. A location has not been determined should the closed-circuit option be needed.
Closed circuit option? Doesn’t the Army Regulation require him to be without a beard, regardless of where he is if he is an “active-duty soldier”?
Obviously, the military is having a difficult time operating from the premise that Hasan doesn’t have certain rights as an active-duty officer and appears at least willing to entertain the notion that a murderous Jihadist will have more rights than a Muslim in uniform who has not been charged with murder. If Hasan is permitted to sport a beard while maintaining “active duty” status, doesn’t it set a precedent for other Muslims – who are not charged with murder – in the US Military to do the same thing?
The judge should have ordered a five minute recess for Hasan to shave or a one hour recess to allow someone else to do it after sedating him.
It appears that, at least to some degree, Hasan is holding his Military captors hostage.
Then again, isn’t the Commander-in-Chief responsible for setting policies that help prevent such a mockery of our Military, our nation, and our system of justice?