Is it permissible to join a military academy that requires shaving the beard for life, especially if the parents desire it, and the alternative is conscription, which may involve shaving the beard or carrying arms against demonstrators?

The increase in your parents' wishes and their joy at your joining a military college is added to the benefits that accrue from it. However, we must draw attention to the issue of being ordered to shoot at demonstrators. Peaceful demonstrations, intended to establish a right or invalidate a wrong, must not be attacked, let alone be shot at. If a soldier or officer is ordered to do so, it is not permissible for him to obey, because there is no obedience to a creature in disobedience to the Creator. Coercion in such a situation is not considered valid, even if it leads to the soldier or officer being killed himself. Ibn al-Arabi said: "There is no disagreement among the Ummah that if one is coerced into killing, it is not permissible for him to save himself by killing another; rather, he must endure the tribulation that has befallen him."