Professor Abou El Fadl Discusses Complications for Muslims Serving in U.S. Military in New York Times and Los Angeles Times Articles

November 12, 2009 -- Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl discussed the growing complications for Muslims serving in the U.S. military in a New York Times and Los Angeles Times articles.

“In the Koran it says that war is to end the state of oppression and to uplift the oppressed,” said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor at the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles.

But he and others interviewed said it has been increasingly difficult for Muslims to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as accounts have emerged of the killing of civilians, the corruption of American-backed local governments, and prisoner abuses like that of the Abu Ghraib scandal .

“Is it an army that defends the oppressed, or have you slipped into becoming the oppressor?” asked Mr. El Fadl, who has counseled Muslims conflicted about enlisting. “People from the military who contact me, that’s what I find they’re torn up about.”

To read the entire New York Times article, click here.

"The bottom line is that it isn't a black and white question," said Khaled Abou el Fadl, an Islamic law scholar at UCLA. "If you're there doing good and helping Iraqis in dire straits, then you can't feel guilty. You'll meet your God and feel proud of your actions."

To read the entire Los Angeles Times article, click here.