Bangladeshi American first Muslim chaplain in marine corps
Thursday, 14 February 2008
A man, who once was a student in the United States from Bangladesh, has become the first Muslim chaplain in the US Marine Corps, using his love for God and humanity to help US military personnel of all faiths and backgrounds, reports UNB.
Abuhena Saifulislam (45) had joined the US Navy in September 1992 after receiving his master's degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire.
He had come to the United States from Bangladesh as a student in 1989 and received residency rights through the US government immigration lottery.
Working in the Navy in payroll and accounting, he became a US citizen at the end of 1995 and then embarked on his quest to become a Muslim military chaplain.
"When I found that they were looking for Muslim chaplains, I wanted to become one. I was already involved in religious activities inside the Pentagon [Defence Department headquarters], establishing Friday services and other such things," the chaplain said.
In 1996, the Defence Department and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Virginia, set up a programme to train Muslim military chaplains and Saifulislam enrolled as the first student in the programme.
He completed the rigorous course work in two years, was inducted into the chaplain candidate programme in 1998, and, the following year, received his chaplain's commission.
The Navy assigned him to the Marines, a subdivision of the Navy, as the corps' first Muslim chaplain. He represents the United States as Muslim military chaplain abroad and at home, helping US service people understand Islam and counseling individual soldiers, most of whom are not Muslims.
"Ninety-nine per cent of the people who come to me for counselling are not Muslims," he said. "We, as chaplains, support everybody. When it comes to personal relationships, marriage, drugs, alcohol, stress or financial problems, religion doesn't play a role. We provide support, grieving in death, anything," he said.
When he counsels soldiers who are torn between their religious convictions, on the one hand, and going to war and possibly killing people, on the other, he said it does not matter whether they are Muslims.
"I counsel service members before they go to battle, and the majority of them are non-Muslims. I counsel equally, in the same fashion," the chaplain said.
The US intention in Iraq and Afghanistan was to rebuild those countries, he tells service people. "If they are Muslims, I give them the perspective that they could be part of the rebuilding or they can help their comrades understand Muslim culture and Islam. I ask them, 'Do you think that you can contribute?' Then they make the decision," he said.
Saifulislam also teaches Muslims and non-Muslims to understand one another better. "It's a two-way process. One is to let one group know that although there are some extremist Muslims, who happen to be criminals in my opinion, which is not Islam. I'm a speaker at the National Defence University," he said.
Abuhena Saifulislam (45) had joined the US Navy in September 1992 after receiving his master's degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire.
He had come to the United States from Bangladesh as a student in 1989 and received residency rights through the US government immigration lottery.
Working in the Navy in payroll and accounting, he became a US citizen at the end of 1995 and then embarked on his quest to become a Muslim military chaplain.
"When I found that they were looking for Muslim chaplains, I wanted to become one. I was already involved in religious activities inside the Pentagon [Defence Department headquarters], establishing Friday services and other such things," the chaplain said.
In 1996, the Defence Department and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Virginia, set up a programme to train Muslim military chaplains and Saifulislam enrolled as the first student in the programme.
He completed the rigorous course work in two years, was inducted into the chaplain candidate programme in 1998, and, the following year, received his chaplain's commission.
The Navy assigned him to the Marines, a subdivision of the Navy, as the corps' first Muslim chaplain. He represents the United States as Muslim military chaplain abroad and at home, helping US service people understand Islam and counseling individual soldiers, most of whom are not Muslims.
"Ninety-nine per cent of the people who come to me for counselling are not Muslims," he said. "We, as chaplains, support everybody. When it comes to personal relationships, marriage, drugs, alcohol, stress or financial problems, religion doesn't play a role. We provide support, grieving in death, anything," he said.
When he counsels soldiers who are torn between their religious convictions, on the one hand, and going to war and possibly killing people, on the other, he said it does not matter whether they are Muslims.
"I counsel service members before they go to battle, and the majority of them are non-Muslims. I counsel equally, in the same fashion," the chaplain said.
The US intention in Iraq and Afghanistan was to rebuild those countries, he tells service people. "If they are Muslims, I give them the perspective that they could be part of the rebuilding or they can help their comrades understand Muslim culture and Islam. I ask them, 'Do you think that you can contribute?' Then they make the decision," he said.
Saifulislam also teaches Muslims and non-Muslims to understand one another better. "It's a two-way process. One is to let one group know that although there are some extremist Muslims, who happen to be criminals in my opinion, which is not Islam. I'm a speaker at the National Defence University," he said.