Military Corps of Chaplains

April 4, 2003

Source: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week630/p-cover.html

On April 4, 2003 Religion & Ethics Newsweekly reported that "another kind of aid is that provided by the U.S. military for the special needs of its troops. A corps of chaplains, ministers on many fronts... According to military chaplains on the front lines, among the risks are great spiritual perils... Jay Magness (Head Chaplain, U.S. Navy Atlantic fleet): 'There are issues of fear. There are issues of courage. There are issues of trying to find how the faith is applied to this environment. I think these are the most traumatic moments anyone can ever face in life...' Some observers wondered whether Muslim service members would feel conflicted about fighting a war against a predominantly Muslim nation -- a war that is strongly opposed across the Islamic world. Those concerns were heightened after an American Muslim soldier was accused of attacking his own unit in Kuwait last week. But Chaplain Saifulislam says there is no such conflict... Chaplain Saifulislam: 'I think we should take the religion out of it. You know, if you look into the other countries who are helping America, they're Muslims too. So you know, we have both sides into it. And in America, there are a lot of Muslims here too. So I don't see it as a religious issue.'"