Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Brigitte Johnston | GREAT LAKES, Ill. (April 22, 2023) Muslim Sailors stationed onboard Naval Station...... read more read more
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GREAT LAKES, Ill. (April 25, 2023) – Friday, April 21, 2023, marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a reverent time of year. Onboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Muslim recruits and Sailors came together throughout the month to celebrate their faith.
Ramadan – a holy month on the Islamic calendar – notably consists of a period of fasting from dawn to dusk with meal at the end of the day called “iftar.” Capable adults and older children participate in the fast with exceptions for the ill, elderly, pregnant, nursing, and young children. Ramadan is considered a time for self-restraint – one of the pillars of the faith. Sailors were provided opportunities to visit a local mosque and utilize resources for iftar.
“I loved [the support from the religious ministries department]. The guys were very thankful for the opportunity to go to the mosque during Ramadan,” said Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Electrical) 3rd Class Yousra Oufarkha, a Morocco native and member of NSGL’s religious ministries department. “For men it is more obligated for them to go.”
Oufarkha coordinated with her community of 12 to 15 Sailors onboard the installation to organize a feast to celebrate Eid al-Fitr also known as “the festival of sweets.” Eid is a time to come together with friends and family over food and prayer – often marked with new clothes and sharing gifts.
“We make sweets, we make cakes, and a lot of pastries,” said Oufarkha. “For kids, we buy them new clothes and give them [money] so that they enjoy outside with their friends and buy snacks for themselves.”
The event was open to share the event with Sailors of all denominations, offering a meal among friends as Oufarkha states is part of the culture she grew up with.
“We don’t mind sharing this, as long as we will share the food with friends and other people, we’re so happy,” said Oufarkha. “When I came here, one of the things I noticed is that when you eat something, you don’t ask other people to share it with you. We have a proverb, ‘Where you can put one hand, you can put ten hands.’”
Great Lakes Religious Ministries and Chaplains worked to organize services and resources throughout the month. NSGL has over a dozen chaplains across all of the tenant commands serving the community. Lt. Cmdr. Eric Brown, NSGL’s command chaplain, works for the installation to ensure the resourcing and delivery of religious ministries across the installation and to tenant commands to provide for the unique needs of each individual in the Navy.
“Sailors often assume their military duties will get in the way of practicing their faith, or that they won’t be supported when they ask for accommodation, or that their shipmates will look down on them for doing something different,” said Brown. “None of these are true. In fact, the Constitution requires people have the opportunity to worship in their own way; although operations always come first – we don’t stop a war so that someone can pray. And commands are required to support each Sailor’s request for religious accommodation – again, within reason and operations come first. Finally, most Sailors are supportive of their shipmate’s needs and are proud of their shipmate for practicing their faith. Practicing your faith makes you more resilient and better able to win at the game of life.”
In the U.S. military, roughly 0.4% of service members are Jewish or Muslim and roughly 1% practice eastern religions such as Buddhism. While resources can be made available, Brown and Oufarkha both recommend advocating for your spiritual needs.
“Talk to your Chaplain if you need a religious accommodation,” said Brown. “And special thanks to GSE3 Oufarkha for all her organizing during the month of Ramadan.”
“For me as a Muslim in the Navy, I feel so safe,” said Oufarkha. “I thought it was going to be hard, that they’re not going to accept me and I thought I would have a hard time. But year after year I learn that they do respect the religion more than in civilian life. I felt so protected, and I didn’t mind people asking why I wear [hijab]. I’ve never been embarrassed. I see a lot of respect from [my fellow Sailors].”
Great Lakes offers Muslim prayer services Fridays at 6 p.m. at the Bluejacket Chapel.
For updates, visit the base’s Facebook account at www.facebook.com/NavalStationGreatLakes, and the base’s Twitter account at twitter.com/navstaglakes.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2023 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 443346 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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