Photos: James Yee
Dr. Ingrid Mattson & Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Thinking Anew: Muslim Chaplains Bridging the Gap
By Faraz Khan
June 15, 2008 Tri-state Muslim Media www.tsmmedia.net
This article is about a recent phenomenon, the growth of Muslim chaplains in different public institutions. As a former Muslim chaplain at Rutgers University, I want to bring my readers up to par with the idea of chaplaincy. Therefore, I decided to write about these dedicated folks that I highly respect and have collaborated with them on different projects.
Currently, many colleges and universities have hired Muslim chaplains to serve the Muslim campus community. Aside from institution of higher education, there are many prisons, hospitals, and the armed forces that have volunteers or paid chaplains. There is a growing recognition that Muslim chaplains are an asset to the American society due to the hard work and vision of a few individuals who have made a difference and redefined chaplaincy in the Islamic contexts. Not surprisingly, there are many reasons that make Muslim chaplains very effective in dealing with problems in their respective environment.
What is a Chaplain?
According to Hartford Seminary, the only institute of higher education with a Muslim chaplaincy program, "A chaplain is a professional who offers spiritual advice and care in a specific institutional context, such as a military unit or a college campus, hospital or prison. Although chaplains often provide religious services for members of their own faith communities, the main role of a chaplain is to facilitate or accommodate the religious needs of all individuals in the institution in which he or she is working". As I understand, a chaplain is like finding a person who is midway between an imam and a social worker. So a chaplain is a religious figure who is actively engaged with his/her community. The chaplain may or may not be a religious authority i.e. "shaykh(a)" but they know everyday practical religious issues. More importantly, they serve their constituency in a big brother/big sister role, where their advice and counseling service is crucial.
Over the past few years due to my involvement as a chaplain at Rutgers University and my engagements at NYU, Hartford Seminary, and Princeton University, I have personally had the opportunity to see these individuals in action. I highly admire and respect these chaplains and hope that they will continue to be a source of inspiration for this generation and many generations to come.
It has been my experience that these folks definitely know the culture of their respective institutions. They are bridge builders and have done remarkable work in the interfaith department. Interestingly, not only do they understand their fellow Muslims but can also associate with people of other faiths and are a source of solace to everyone. This young generation of chaplains is able to communicate with pastors, rabbis, monks, gurus, and pundits. They are practitioners engaged in an active dialogue. Interestingly, they give many talks on Islam but they also listen when other students speak. I find them to be leaders who serve Muslims and non-Muslims far removed from the mosque culture.
A few words about these young Chaplains
Khalid Latif
Mona Aly
David Coolidge
Sohaib Sultan
...cont.
By Faraz Khan
June 15, 2008 Tri-state Muslim Media www.tsmmedia.net
This article is about a recent phenomenon, the growth of Muslim chaplains in different public institutions. As a former Muslim chaplain at Rutgers University, I want to bring my readers up to par with the idea of chaplaincy. Therefore, I decided to write about these dedicated folks that I highly respect and have collaborated with them on different projects.
Currently, many colleges and universities have hired Muslim chaplains to serve the Muslim campus community. Aside from institution of higher education, there are many prisons, hospitals, and the armed forces that have volunteers or paid chaplains. There is a growing recognition that Muslim chaplains are an asset to the American society due to the hard work and vision of a few individuals who have made a difference and redefined chaplaincy in the Islamic contexts. Not surprisingly, there are many reasons that make Muslim chaplains very effective in dealing with problems in their respective environment.
What is a Chaplain?
According to Hartford Seminary, the only institute of higher education with a Muslim chaplaincy program, "A chaplain is a professional who offers spiritual advice and care in a specific institutional context, such as a military unit or a college campus, hospital or prison. Although chaplains often provide religious services for members of their own faith communities, the main role of a chaplain is to facilitate or accommodate the religious needs of all individuals in the institution in which he or she is working". As I understand, a chaplain is like finding a person who is midway between an imam and a social worker. So a chaplain is a religious figure who is actively engaged with his/her community. The chaplain may or may not be a religious authority i.e. "shaykh(a)" but they know everyday practical religious issues. More importantly, they serve their constituency in a big brother/big sister role, where their advice and counseling service is crucial.
Over the past few years due to my involvement as a chaplain at Rutgers University and my engagements at NYU, Hartford Seminary, and Princeton University, I have personally had the opportunity to see these individuals in action. I highly admire and respect these chaplains and hope that they will continue to be a source of inspiration for this generation and many generations to come.
It has been my experience that these folks definitely know the culture of their respective institutions. They are bridge builders and have done remarkable work in the interfaith department. Interestingly, not only do they understand their fellow Muslims but can also associate with people of other faiths and are a source of solace to everyone. This young generation of chaplains is able to communicate with pastors, rabbis, monks, gurus, and pundits. They are practitioners engaged in an active dialogue. Interestingly, they give many talks on Islam but they also listen when other students speak. I find them to be leaders who serve Muslims and non-Muslims far removed from the mosque culture.
A few words about these young Chaplains
Khalid Latif
Mona Aly
David Coolidge
Sohaib Sultan
...cont.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment