U.S. Army doctor Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is the lone suspect in the shooting death of 13 people and wounding of 31 others at Fort Hood in 2009. (credit: Bell Co. Sheriff’s Dept.)

FORT HOOD (AP) - A military appeals court will hear oral arguments next week before deciding if an Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting can be forcibly shaved before his murder trial.

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals says it also will consider whether the trial judge exceeded his authority and should be removed from Maj. Nidal Hasan’s case.

Hasan says he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, despite the Army’s beard ban.

He appealed the judge’s order that he be forcibly shaved. His attorneys say that would violate his religious rights.

The appeals court at Fort Belvoir, Va., will hear from prosecutors and defense attorneys October 11.

Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 shootings that killed 13 people at the Texas post.

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