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September 28, 2006
"Gaining acceptance in service"

Posted by Bill

The Chicago Tribune:

When Lt. Abuhena Saif-ul-Islam first arrived at the Camp Pendleton military base in California, recruits often asked the Muslim chaplain what the crescent on his lapel meant. Saif-ul-Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant, jokingly told them he was an astronaut.

Nowadays, fewer sailors find the Islamic symbol unfamiliar. But Saif-ul-Islam, a U.S. Navy chaplain since 1999, still is questioned often about his religion during training sessions he conducts at bases across the nation.

"They want to know if non-Muslims can go into a mosque," Saif-ul-Islam said. "They ask why people in Iraq are behaving [violently] if Islam is so peaceful. It's a genuine question."

Read the rest.

(Via Dean)

Posted by Bill at September 28, 2006 06:43 PM | TrackBack (2)

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Comments

It's great that we're getting more Muslim chaplains. I don't know that there were any at all while I was in the Air Force, but I was lucky enough to have a few buddies that were Muslim and that was a great horizon extender for me.

I've been thinking lately that we could use that kind of thing in the civilian world too. I'm not religious so it may already be happening for all I know, but it seems to me that some kind of interfaith exchange program between mosques, churches, and synagogues might do an awful lot of good.

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