Abuhena Saifulislam, First Muslim Chaplain in US Marine Corps
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/diverse-public-service/diverse-public-service">Return to Diversity in Public Service</a></h4>
From Wikipedia: Commander Abuhena Saifulislam is a Bangladeshi-American who is the first Muslim Naval Officer appointed as an imam chaplain serving with units in the Marine Corps. After obtaining citizenship, Saiful launched his drive to become an imam in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps, which provides chaplains to the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Saiful attended a course for chaplains serving with the Marine Corps, organized jointly by the Defense Department and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Virginia. He studied for two years to complete the course. In 1998, he took the opportunity of the process of recruiting Navy chaplains and was commissioned in the same rank in 1999. After commissioning, the Navy assigned him to the United States Marine Corps as the first Muslim chaplain to serve with the United States Marine Corps. In this position his main task is to teach about Islam so that an understanding of the religion is built up across the US military. On his appointment as a Muslim chaplain, Saiful said, "When I found out that they were looking for Muslim chaplains, I wanted to become one. I was already involved in religious activities inside the Pentagon (Defense Department headquarters), establishing Friday services and other such things. In the Navy his rank is Commander and he is known as Chaplain Saif.
Defense Visual Information Service
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Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Year 2014
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
<a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/146192/muslim-navy-chaplain-playing-key-role">DVIDS</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuhena_Saifulislam">Wikipedia</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6755589.stm">BBC News</a>
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Imam. Chaplain. Islam. United States. Navy. Marine Corps.
United States
Sadaf Jaffer, First Muslim Woman to serve as US Mayor
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/diverse-public-service/diverse-public-service">Return to Diversity in Public Service</a></h4>
From her website: Sadaf Jaffer is a scholar, activist, and elected official. Dr. Jaffer is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University where she teaches courses on South Asian, Islamic, and Asian American Studies. She has published articles in the Journal of Womens History, as well as the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Huffington Post, and Altmuslimah blogs. Dr. Jaffer is also the mayor of Montgomery Township, New Jersey where she has focused her administration on good governance and increased transparency, communications, diversity, and inclusivity. Mayor Jaffer has been especially involved in work to combat prejudice and build connections throughout the community. In her first year on Township Committee she founded Montgomery Mosaic, a group allied with the national Not In Our Town (NIOT) movement. She serves on the board of directors for The New Agenda, an organization that promotes women's economic empowerment and combats sexual harassment and sexual assault. She is on the advisory board of Inspiring South Asian American Women (ISAAW), a group dedicated to encouraging civic engagement among South Asian American women in New Jersey. She is also on the advisory board of ARTE: Art and Resistance through Education, a non-profit that promotes human rights education and youth development through the arts. NJ Spotlight: She is the first woman of South Asian descent to serve as mayor of a town in New Jersey, and the first Muslim woman to serve as a mayor in the United States.
WHYY - PBS - NJ Spotlight
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NJ Spotlight
May-19
NJ Spotlight
<a href="https://whyy.org/articles/meet-sadaf-jaffer-new-jerseys-first-female-muslim-mayor/">NJ Spotlight</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadaf_Jaffer">Wikipedia</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.sadafjaffer.com/">Personal website</a>
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Islam. Pakistani-American. New Jersey. Scholar. Women. Mayor. South Asia.
New Jersey