The Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today celebrated the submissive U.S. Air Force’s new guidelines allowing personnel to request a waiver to wear religious apparel, including turbans and hijabs (Islamic headbags for women), and to grow beards for religious reasons.

Air Force Times Those requesting waivers must submit a request for these religious accommodations, and those requests can only be denied if the policy “furthers a compelling government interest” and is the least restrictive way of furthering that interest.

The new religious accommodation rules also cover unshorn beards and unshorn hair — such as those worn by members of the Sikh faith — under-turbans or patkas, and other indoor or outdoor head coverings.

In 2017, the Army became the first service to allow Muslim soldiers to wear head coverings and beards.

Staff Sgt. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver for religious reasons. Capt. Maysaa Ouza, the first Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps officer to wear the hijab, was also featured in a short NBC documentary last year.

In India, the apex court recently banned a Muslim soldier from having a beard saying that wearing a beard was not inherent to Islam.