Muslim Chaplain Talks about Life in US Military

United States Army officer Khallid Shabazz is one of a very small number of American military chaplains who are Muslim. Colonel¹ Shabazz is also the highest-level Muslim chaplain in the U.S. military, says the Army Times newspaper.

Although he has had great success, Shabazz has faced many difficulties in his life.

Highest ranking Muslim chaplain in U.S. military

A chaplain is a person who performs religious services and gives help and guidance to people.

Shabazz serves as command chaplain for U.S. Army Central, the command responsible for land operations in the Middle East.

With his position as a colonel, Shabazz is now responsible for tens of thousands of soldiers and supervises² other chaplains. Like all military chaplains, he has to be ready to deal with soldiers of all religions.

"The majority of my job is counseling³ about domestic⁴ issues or" other kinds of difficulties "and only one percent of my job is actual religious counseling," Shabazz explained.

Still, in order to better understand Christian⁵ soldiers who make up the majority of the military, Shabazz continued to study Christianity. He even got a doctorate⁶ in Christian theology from North Texas Theological Seminary.

Shabazz became a Muslim as a young man. He believes his experience with both religions has helped to make him a better chaplain.

Difficult past

Shabazz has had success despite difficult times in the past.

As a child, Shabazz was sexually⁷ abused by a family friend — an experience, he said, that left him an angry young man.

When he first went to college, he said, he became friendly with the wrong crowd. He began drinking alcohol and partying and often found himself in violent disagreements. It was during one of these drunken fights that he was beaten and shot in the back.

He survived but decided⁸ to put his studies on hold. He went back to Louisiana, his home state. The only job he could find was as a cleaner at a large store.

With few choices available to him, Shabazz joined the military.

It was there he first read The Autobiography⁹ of Malcolm X.

"I found a lot to inspire me in his story," said Shabazz. He added, "I wanted to be educated and to stand for something bigger than myself. So I decided to become like Malcolm...."

Shabazz's new identity as a Muslim came in the early 1990's. The change was not received well by all. He faced discrimination from other soldiers and the displeasure of his Christian family. He was ready to quit the military.

Then he met with an Army chaplain. The officer persuaded Shabazz not only to stay in the army but to become a chaplain himself.

Shabazz became a chaplain in 1998, having studied Arabic in Jordan along the way. He also earned two master's degrees at universities in Connecticut and California.

Shabazz says there are five Muslim chaplains in the army, three in the Air Force, and one in the Navy.

Shabazz added there is more work to be done. Unlike other faiths, Shabazz said, he has not met any Muslim chaplain assistants — officers who help chaplains in their work.

But, he said, "It's easier today to be a Muslim soldier in the army than when I began."

Words in This Story

chaplain – n. a religious leader who performs services for a military group (such as the army)

inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

counseling -- n. advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems, make important decisions, etc.

domestic -- adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family

theology – n. the study of religious faith, practice, and experience

1 colonel   

n.(英国陆军、美国陆空军及海军陆战队)上校

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel.可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。
• An army major ranks between a captain and a colonel.陆军少校的军阶在上尉与中校之间。

2 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

3 counseling   

n.咨询服务

参考例句：

• A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism-counseling program. 一位身份数百万的媒体大亨，坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班，令员工大为惊愕。
• She will need medical help and counseling to overcome the tragedy. 她将需要医疗帮助和心理咨询来平复这场悲剧。

4 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

7 sexually   

adv.性别上地；按性别地；性欲地；两性之间地

参考例句：

• to be sexually promiscuous 性生活淫乱
• I was depressed,withdrawn and sexually frigid. 我郁郁寡欢，离群索居，没有什么性要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。