Lackland Air Force Base, Texas –
(Editor's note: This is the conclusion of a two-part article.)
Among the four chaplain candidates receiving their initial Air Force Reserve tour at Lackland is a former Sailor who said he was "highly recruited to become a chaplain within the Navy" because he was a Muslim lay leader for about eight years while in the Navy.
The candidate, 2nd Lt. Sharior Rahman, 26, said the Air Force won his commitment "due to a great friend of mine, Chaplain (Capt.) Hamza Al-Mubarrak, stationed at the Air Force Academy" in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Lieutenant Rahman will be the imam for the Muslim Jummah Prayer at 1:30 p.m. today at the Defense Language Institute Student Center. He also will lead Muslim Religious Education from 1-3 p.m. Sunday for basic military trainees at the Gateway Chapel.
He was a petty officer second class stationed at Pensacola, Fla., when he decided to separate and become an Air Force Reserve chaplain. "I saw there was a great need," he said, noting the Air Force currently has only two Muslim chaplains, his friend at the academy and Lackland Chaplain (Capt.) Walid Habash. "I will ultimately be the third Muslim chaplain in the whole Air Force," he said.
"Education will be my biggest asset, because there are people that are so leery about Islam," the lieutenant said. Many people who aren't knowledgeable about the Muslim faith "have a negative impression," he said. "I want to show them the truth of how it is, according to the scripture, the Quran, and in that way, relieve some doubt."
He has about a year remaining at Hartford (Conn.) Seminary. "Everyone wants me to become a chaplain as soon as possible," he said, noting that statistics show Muslim is the fastest-growing religion in the world, in the United States and within the U.S. military.
He has led the Jummah Prayer at DLI several times, and said the service is attracting 200 to 300 international students each Friday.
Lieutenant Rahman's home now is Boca Raton, Fla., and he is originally from Bangladesh. He has a wife and 3-year-old daughter.
"Lackland has a very diverse environment," he said. The four chaplain candidates have mingled together since their arrival July 15 for the monthlong tour. "The dialogue is really good," he said. "We have learned a lot more from each other of our commonalities than our differences."
Another chaplain's candidate with prior service is 2nd Lt. Jason Raines, 27, from Clarksville, Tenn., who has about a year and a half remaining at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. His interest in becoming a chaplain occurred while he was serving in the Air Force for six years.
"I got to see a lot of areas where they were ministering, and I really felt the conviction and drive to be there to encourage our Airmen to seek a better way of living," he said. Some people, he said, "find out life could have been better too late. And I think the more chaplains that we have, the more people we can get out there to spread that positive message."
Lieutenant Raines will preach for the Protestant Traditional Service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Freedom Chapel.
He was a staff sergeant and military training leader, "so I've been in the training environment before," he said. "But being on this side of it, our capacities are totally different."
He said the chaplain candidates will have a 35-day tour at another base next summer, then begin working on being ordained as a first lieutenant Reserve chaplain after earning their Master's of Divinity or equivalent.
Some chaplains have been church pastors for several years before applying for a direct commission as an Air Force chaplain after attending officer training. But he said most chaplains come in as Reservists, going through officer training and the Chaplain Candidate Course at Maxwell AFB, Ala., before two chaplain intern tours.
Lieutenant Raines said he wants to be activated as a full-time chaplain as soon as possible, based on the needs of the Air Force.
The lieutenant has a wife and two children, a son, 6, and a daughter, 3.