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GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Chaplain Capt. Mark Williams of the 110th Chaplain Detachment in Birmingham, Ala., Polish Army Chaplain Capt. Rafal Kapron of 10th Armoured Brigade in Poland and Afghan Mullah Maj. Aminullah Amin of 3rd Battalion, Afghan National Army, met for lunch and conversation at Forward Operating Base Ghazni Jan. 30.
Amin is the religious and cultural affairs officer for his unit on FOB Vulcan just a few kilometers from FOB Ghazni. He and Williams first met when the American chaplain visited FOB Vulcan a little more than a week before. Encouraged by their initial meeting, Williams invited Amin for lunch and tea on FOB Ghazni.
Joining them was State Department representatives Stetson Sanders and Warner Rose, along with U.S. Army Spc. Dennis Houde, 110th Chaplain Det. chaplain’s assistant and a Montgomery, Ala., resident.
The chaplains compared the roles and responsibilities of their positions and asked and answered questions about one another’s faiths.
As religious and cultural affairs officer, Amin told his fellow religious leaders that he also has duties in the areas of public affairs and information operations for his unit.
Similar to the U.S. chaplains, he has enlisted assistants in the office to help keep things running smoothly.
“My job is very similar to yours,” he noted. “The office consists of two officers, a sergeant and a private.”
In answer to Amin’s question on the difference between Catholics and Protestants, the Polish priest quipped, “Protestants can get married.”
Williams added, “The two faiths also have some differences regarding prayer to saints, prayer to Mary, communion and baptism.”
As everyone prepared to eat, Williams mentioned that he would like to say a prayer before they began. This surprised the Mullah.
“In Islam, we thank Allah only after we receive something,” he said.
After lunch, the chaplains took Amin on a tour of their recently completed chapel where they also had tea waiting for their guest.
At the end of the visit each expressed the desire to meet again and arranged for Amin to return the following Sunday to observe both the Polish Catholic Mass and the U.S. Protestant service.
Williams noted later that it will be a particularly appropriate service this Sunday.
“It will be the sermon of the four chaplains,” he said.
He further explained that during World War II, a troop transport ship, the USAT Dorchester, was sinking.
“Four chaplains – a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, a Protestant minister and a Reformist minister together gave up their life preservers to other soldiers aboard the ship, then linked arms and sang hymns until they disappeared beneath the icy water in a final show of unity,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2011 06:42 |
| Story ID: | 64713 |
| Location: | GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 257 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Afghan army mullah finds common ground with Army, Polish chaplains, by CMSgt Julie Brummund, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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