Chaplain Ministers to All
Posted by Chaplain Campbell. Filed in Active Duty, Chaplains, National Guard, Parents, Reserves |
Chaplain Dawud Agbere (Maj.) has a unique ministry. As one of six active-duty Muslim chaplains in the United States Army, he is assigned to be the spiritual adviser to an entire unit — even if all of its soldiers are Christian.
But Chaplain Agbere says his religion doesn’t stop him from connecting with soldiers. When he was deployed to Iraq, he said soldiers asked him for counsel on some very human issues: life, death, and the stress of war. That’s why military chaplains are trained to minister to troops of all faiths, chaplains say.
As a chaplain in a Baghdad hospital from 2004 to 2005, Agbere ministered not only to Muslim soldiers, but to Iraqis as well. Agbere said he believes his actions will help dispel misperceptions and create more accurate opinions about Americans.
“Muslim soldiers are like any other soldier,” he said. “They have human concerns — issues of family, of financial problems, of how to accomplish the mission. I take care of soldiers regardless of their background. I believe in common humanity. Common humanity is what bonds us together.”
Chaplain Agbere was born and raised in a Muslim family in Ghana, West Africa. His father was a truck driver for the military there, and through his father’s work, he grew to respect soldiers.
Agbere and his wife, Meimunatu, also from Ghana, have five children. He came to the United States to teach high school in 1995. Not long after, he enlisted to serve on a Navy ship, but grew interested in the Army when he discovered he could be commissioned as an officer there. He was granted a discharge from the Navy so he could join the Army.
Agbere has an impressive resume. He has two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree in Islamic studies, and is a doctoral candidate for a ministry degree from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. He also speaks English, Arabic and four African languages.
His duty assignments include Fort Sill, Okla.; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and a deployment to Iraq with the 31st Combat Support Hospital. He is currently studying at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS.
Click here to read more about Chaplain Agbere.
Tags: Chaplain, Chaplain Agbere, Ghana, Muslim, Muslim chaplain
