US Army BGen Miguel Castellanos, the CJTF-HOA deputy commanding general, recently hosted an Islamic iftar to celebrate the breaking of the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The event began with US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Abuhena Saifulislam leading some foreign troops in Islamic prayers. (Saifulislam had recently performed the same ritual for the State Department in Djibouti.)
BGen Castellanos made an interesting statement Read more
People tend to connect more through their faith than anything else.
– Chaplain Abuhena Saifulislam
US Navy Chaplain (Cmdr) Abuhena Saifulislam, stationed in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, as the USAFRICOM deputy command chaplain, recently spent a week in Djibouti
with members of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Religious and Civil Affairs, they met with the deputy director of Islamic affairs for Djibouti, the Sultan of Tadjoura and representatives of the Red Crescent Society of Djibouti among others.
Besides meeting with local leaders, Saifulislam participated in religious Read more
A writer with Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa had a witty beginning to his story on the work of chaplains with their counterparts in the Kenyan military:
A Kenyan catholic priest, Anglican priest, and Muslim imam walk into a chapel.
This is not the start of a joke, but the beginning of a new partnership between Kenyan and U.S. military chaplains…Kenyan army Lt. Col. Alfayo Lelei, Kenyan air force Lt. Col. Lucas Gatobu and Kenyan army Maj. Mohamed Shukry [joined American chaplains] to discuss ways to better serve U.S. and Kenyan service members’ spiritual needs.
While chaplains protect the religious rights of those in the US military, some also serve “strategic” goals of the US military, engaging local religious leaders during conflicts and, as here, helping other nations in the development of their chaplaincies.
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It has been said here often that the US military can provide an excellent example of religious freedom to other nations who have yet to fully grasp that human liberty. Unfortunately, in efforts to shore up support with locals, it seems the local religion may get emphasized more than religious freedom. For example, messages from Afghanistan often tout the United States’ respect for, support of, and even defense of the religion of Islam — rather than its respect, support, and defense of religious freedom.
US military chaplains may be an exception to those omissions. Within the Read more