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The Air Force Times<\/em> profiles Chaplain (Capt) Sharior Rahman<\/a>, who is one of two Islamic Chaplains in the US Air Force.\u00a0 (The other is Chaplain (Capt) Walid Habash<\/a>; it is unclear what became of Chaplain (Capt) Abdulah Hamza Al-Mubarak<\/a>, who was the Air Force’s first Islamic Chaplain and served at the Air Force Academy until a few years ago.)<\/p>\n Rahman serves at Lackland AFB — gateway for all enlisted recruits — and reportedly has more than 500 attend his weekly services.\u00a0 By some counts, there are perhaps 5,000 Muslims in the entire US military.\u00a0 How is it\u00a0his congregation at a single base is\u00a0so large?<\/p>\n Lackland is home to the\u00a0Defense Language Institute English Language Center<\/a>.\u00a0 While there may be Islamic American military members in his services, there is an extremely large population of foreign military members at Lackland\u00a0— around 1,000 from more than 100 countries —\u00a0learning the English language.\u00a0 Students include Iraqis, Sudanese, and Afghans, to name just a few.\u00a0 In fact, nearly 300 Afghans — an almost exclusively Islamic country — have graduated from DLIELC over the past two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n For his part, the Chaplain\u00a0speaks five languages and is learning another, which almost certainly makes him an asset to the international community there.<\/p>\n His schedule is full even beyond the five-times daily prayers and Friday services:<\/p>\n He gets calls from commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan wanting to know the protocol for building a mosque. He sits down with doctors and nurses who want to know about patient privacy issues for Muslim patients. He provides guidance to the Air Force Chief of Chaplains office. He has even traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to visit detainees.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (Imagine, for a moment, if a commander asked a Chaplain for protocol on building a church<\/em>…)<\/p>\n While Chaplains are most known for their roles in meeting the religious needs of like-minded adherents, they actually serve a diverse range of functions, including advising the command on issues of religion in general<\/em> — not just their own faith.\u00a0 Rahman’s presence at Lackland seems to be a positive indicator of the Air Force’s attempts to protect the religious freedom\u00a0of all<\/em> the military members under its care — even those from foreign countries.\u00a0 Despite an occasional accusation to the contrary<\/a>, US military Chaplains can help meet the needs of allied and other supporting countries serving with the US.\u00a0\u00a0Rahman also helps meet the needs of understanding Islam in an era in which Air Force and other military members are engaged around the world in predominantly Islamic societies.<\/p>\n Whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic, or something else, the military makes admirable, if not always perfect, attempts to uphold and encourage members of specific faiths even as they serve their country and defend those freedoms for others.<\/p>\n Photo caption: Chaplain (Capt.) Sharior Rahman, an Air Force Imam, holds the sajjud position during salah in the prayer hall of the Defense Language Institute Student Center, Lackland AFB, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo\/Lance Cheung).\u00a0 This photo originally appeared in an Air Force article entitled “Defending Freedom through Religion<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n