As a Soldier, I have gotten to see a new side of the military as a Muslim. Soldiers, just like normal Americans, are authorized to believe and pray how they want. Army Chaplains provide services or facilities so that we can do just that. The Chaplain Corp for the United States Army has been around since 1918 and serves with the motto "For God and Country." Our Chaplains are bound to a specific denomination or religion and often serve their Units as counselors, advisers and coordinators for religious events. So with this information and in accordance with the Regulation (AR 165-1), a Chaplain regardless of denomination serves the soldiers of his units religious needs in general, but only holds services for his specific denomination. Checkout these sites for more information:
http://www.chapnet.army.mil/pdf/activities.pdf and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_Corps_(United_States_Army)
As it was instructed to me by a senior ranking Chaplain, "you will not hold any prayer groups, bible studies or religious meetings until you are an approved DFGL." This conversation was one of many where I was trying to establish regular meetings of fellow Muslims for the purpose of strengthening our faith and increasing our knowledge through fellowship and prayer. The Chaplain talked about a DFGL status or Distinctive Faith Group Leader (formerly known as a lay leader.) The role is given to an applicant who volunteers from among our ranks to help lead a faith that otherwise has no Chaplain or leader. The application process and further explanation of the position is explained in Paragraph 5-5 of Army Regulation 165-1. My only problem with this process is that biases may interfere with the intent of the Regulation being carried out. For example, if you are on a remote base overseas and there are no Chaplains for your faith, then you can apply to become a DFGL and lead that faith. But a Chaplain must sponsor you and scrutiny of your application may take several months. During which time, it is not authorized to gather. If soldiers are not already in a DFGL status when they deploy, they may not have the ability to attend or hold a single service during their deployment. The senior ranking Chaplain who quoted this to me let me know that he did everything he is suppose to within the letter of the regulation by providing a facility for me to pray and worship as an individual. This is the spirit of a man who has no desire to see a particular faith flourish and grow.
For any other Muslim Soldiers who may find this, be advised that if you are preparing to deploy and know of others in your unit who would like to pray with you or read the Book together, then you will need to apply for this status before you leave.
