Air Force commissions first female Muslim chaplain
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —
Air Force commissions first female Muslim chaplain
By Tech. Sgt. Armando A. Schwier-Morales, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
In a room full of family, friends and mentors, history was made with the affirmation “So help me God.”
Chaplain candidate Saleha Jabeen was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Chicago at the Catholic Theological Union by the Air Force chief of chaplains, Dec. 18, becoming the first female Muslim chaplain in the Department of the Defense.
“I first came to the United States 14 years ago as an international student,” Jabeen said. “I thought I would study and make an impact in the corporate world.”
However, when she learned of the trials faced by service members through her brother’s deployments and service in the Army, the impact she had set to make wouldn’t be in the corporate world.
Jabeen followed her brother into the Army where more lessons about her goals and dreams came to light. While in the Army Medical Corps, Jabeen received opportunities to work alongside chaplains and help out her fellow Soldiers.
“My brother has been the source of my inspiration,” Jabeen said. “It was because of his dedication and getting to see his military career that I recognized the importance of the chaplaincy in the armed forces. I saw that when one member gets deployed, all of their family members join them.”
During her time in the Army, Jabeen met Army 1st Lt. Jamal Bey, from the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion. They became good friends and mentored each other. When Jabeen told Bey about her dream of becomimg a Muslim chaplain, Bey at the time didn’t have a reference point but he supported Jabeen in blazing a trail for being the first.
“The commissioning of Saleha is great because as a father you want to be able to tell your children that they can be anything,” Bey said at Jabeen’s commissioning ceremony. “I now have Jabeen to point to as an example of a woman that broke this barrier.”
Air Force chaplains are religious ministry professionals who support the spiritual needs of Airmen around the world. The Department of Defense has service members of many faiths and those of no faith, but the DoD didn’t have a female Imam, a spiritual leader in Islam.
“Any time we advance religious freedoms, it’s a win for all persons of faith,” said Maj. Gen. Steven Schaick, Air Force chief of chaplains. “The fact is America is a place where the Constitution guarantees your freedom to embrace or abstain from religious ideals, and the Chaplain Corps, which Jabeen just entered, exists to ensure every Airman has a religious freedom advocate. This is a big day not just for Muslims, but for persons of all faiths. I could not be more proud of our Air Force for being willing to commission and embrace the first female Imam in the Department of Defense.”
Jabeen was endorsed by the Islamic Society of North America to become the first female Muslim chaplain in the Department of Defense. But, Jabeen’s journey in the Air Force chaplaincy has just begun. She is scheduled to complete training and will then be assigned to a duty station where she will support Airmen. Along the way, she hopes to continue inspiring people and breaking barriers.
“When other people look at what I have done, I want them to know that God has a plan for you and to go out there and be the best version of yourself and accomplish the mission you were specifically designed to complete. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you and when they try — be kind, be generous, be resilient and don’t quit.”
Precedent:
Nevada ANG chaplain:
By Tech. Sgt. Emerson Marcus, Nevada Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs / Published May 11, 2017
This feature is part of the “Through Airmen’s Eyes” series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)
Laura Magee remembers asking her father about religion when she was 8 while innocently combing her hair in front of a large vanity mirror.
It was the first time she can remember asking one of her parents about the existence of a God — which she said her father quickly repudiated. Her parents identified as agnostic or atheist, she said. For Laura, now a master sergeant in the Nevada Air National Guard, these sorts of questions lingered and often went unanswered, even as she attended Christian services in adulthood.
Three years ago, though, after 12 years in military intelligence, she entered a new military career field as a chaplain assistant.
During her training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, her questions turned to affirmation in something she admittedly knew very little about.
That’s where she says she discovered Islam and eventually introduced the religion to her husband, Mark Magee, when she returned home.
A rare change of faith
It’s extremely rare for someone to enter the six-week military chaplain course and leave professing a different faith than the one they practiced beforehand, said Capt. Rafael Lantigua, a Muslim chaplain with the 502nd Air Base Wing at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
“I have never heard of that happening before,” said Lantigua, a mentor for Laura who attended chaplain school the same time she was at the chaplain assistant’s course. “I’ve heard of chaplain assistants coming out of school saying they have a broader understanding, more religiously competent, with more appreciation (of other religions), but when you are talking about changing faiths, having that transition take place — a life changing event such as that — I’ve never heard of that happening before.”
Chaplains have provided spiritual guidance for members of the U.S. military since the creation of the Continental Army in 1775. The modern mission statement, according to the Air Force Chaplain Corps website, is to provide “pastoral care ministry to those of faith and those of no faith.” But chaplains are encouraged to publicly proclaim a religion, as long as it doesn’t hinder their responsibilities providing spiritual guidance to military members of all backgrounds.
During the six-week training, chaplains and chaplain assistants enter different courses, but often mingle in a classroom setting.
That’s where Laura first met Lantigua.
“I had learned little bits and pieces of it (Islam) through documentaries or my world religions class (in college),” she said. “But to me, in the past, I thought, well, all religions have a certain amount of truth to them and Islam was kind of an eastern religion that I really didn’t understand.”
Lantigua — the son of a Catholic father and Southern Baptist mother — converted to Islam when he was a teenager. During their training in 2014, he gave a short presentation on Islam. Afterward, Laura and other service members approached him for more information.
“I definitely see a rise in interest (in Islam) because the U.S. military has been engaged with the Muslim world, if you will, the Middle East, at least in the American consciousness for decades,” Lantigua said. “For people outside the military, they want to ask, but are too afraid to offend. In the military, they are more comfortable to engage with other military because we both wear the uniform.”
Finding acceptance
According to Pentagon data released in 2015, more than 5,000 Muslims serve in the U.S. military.
ISIS, designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, seeks to build its caliphate, or religious state, with goals of waging holy war against “disbelievers.”
“I think a lot of Muslims feel that what ISIS is doing is directly attacking Islam and the religion,” she said. “They are trying to change it into their image. A lot of Muslims feel personally attacked.”