Sister Anne Flanagan, Daughter of St. Paul and author of Nun Blog
As coverage of the Ft. Hood shootings continues, I find myself wondering less about Major Hasan’s religion than about his clothing.
Let me explain. As someone who has worn a religious habit for over 20 years, I have had to reflect a lot on what this specific uniform means in itself, for me, and for the people I encounter or meet.
Within Catholic circles, my habit identifies me as a member of a community called the Daughters of St. Paul, a community with its own history, spirituality and field of work.
On the streets of Chicago, my habit identifies me as a full-time “Church lady” (although that means different things to different people). For myself personally, the habit is a practical expression of simplicity of life and a daily reminder that my life, like that of Jesus, is to be at the service of others.
That’s a lot of meaning riding on one set of clothing!
But the media have presented Major Hasan in two distinctive uniforms: that of the U.S. Army, and the habit-like Middle-Eastern clothing he is seen wearing in a convenience store video. Each of those uniforms says something about the wearer’s values, beliefs and relationships. I haven’t heard otherwise, but, it’s hard to imagine that Major Hasan wore Middle-Eastern styles growing up in southwestern Virginia. I was in Dearborn, Michigan last week; this city has the highest concentration of Muslims in the entire US, and while I saw many women in headscarves, I didn’t see a single man in a flowing tunic.
Clothes don’t make the man (nor the habit the monk), but knowing the circumstances under which this American military officer began to don the vestments of Middle Eastern culture might help us better understand what was going on that day in Ft. Hood.
Originally posted on The Seeker for the Chicago Tribune.
Filed under: Fort Hood
This is very interesting!