Army makes military history with first Muslim division-level chaplain
By: Mackenzie Wolf, February 28, 2017 (Photo Credit: Sgt. Jasmine Higgins/Army)
This summer, Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz will become the first Muslim to be a division-level chaplain in the history of the U.S. military, according to McClatchy.
As chaplain of the Army’s 7 th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, Shabazz will be the spiritual leader for more than 14,000 soldiers, most of whom are Christian. Currently, there are just five Muslim chaplains in the Army and only 10 in the entire military.
Michael Barnes, a devout Christian raised in Louisiana, converted to Islam and took the name Khallid Shabazz. He said he felt a deep connection with the tenets of Islam, such as the absence of clerical hierarchy and the focus on charity.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/army-history-first-muslim-division-level-chaplain
