Task Force McCoy Accepts Quran Donation

Photo By Zachary Mott | U.S. Army Capt. Jamal Bey, a Muslim Imam and Army chaplain with the 720th Military Police Battalion and currently part of Task Force McCoy, personally places donated Qurans in one of 14 prayer centers supporting Afghan evacuees on Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Sept. 21, 2021. The Qurans were donated by the Islamic Society of Milwaukee for Afghan evacuees to use. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott/Task Force McCoy)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

09.21.2021

Story by Zachary Mott 

Operation Allies Welcome - Operation Allies Refuge   

FORT McCOY, Wis. – More than 40 small moving boxes, filled with Qurans, were donated to Task Force McCoy for use by Afghan evacuees in support of Operation Allies Welcome here Sept. 21, 2021.

The Islamic Society of Milwaukee donated the Qurans, along with clothing and other requested supplies, to Team Rubicon who then routes the donations to the evacuees.

For many fleeing Afghanistan, they left with little more than the clothes on their backs and maybe a small bag they could carry. In some instances, those bags may not have contained any religious texts. Through this donation, Qurans will be available at the 14 prayer centers here.

“The Quran in the translation means recitation,” said Capt. Jamal Bey, a Muslim Imam and the command chaplain with the 720th Military Police Battalion, Task Force McCoy. “We view the Quran as the word of God. We may not have our specific Quran that we had at the house, but by having any Quran there’s a benefit in it for Muslims and also for the guests coming from Afghanistan.”

Bey said he walks through the streets of the Afghan villages here and has impromptu Quran recitations with children.

“We like to commit it to memory,” Bey said of the Quran. “Out in the streets playing with the kids, the kids and I were quizzing each other on the verses of the Quran that we know. It’s something that we work to memorize so that we can share that and it’s always with us even if we don’t have the book.”

• Date Taken: 09.21.2021
• Date Posted: 09.21.2021 16:31
• Story ID: 405724
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US
• Hometown: FORT CARSON, CO, US
• Hometown: MILWAUKEE, WI, US
• Hometown: MOCKSVILLE, NC, US