Then-Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz, the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command’s chaplain, delivered a sermon during a Jumu’ah prayer service. Shabazz later was promoted to colonel, the highest rank ever attained by any Muslim chaplain in the U.S. military. (Sgt. 1st Class Claudio R. Tejada/ U.S. Army) A survey conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding found that Muslim Americans are just as likely to join the military as any other demographic within the country’s general population. Conducted by the nonprofit, non-partisan organization between February and March of this year, the 2022 American Muslim Poll surveyed more than 2,100 adults, with around 800 identifying as Muslim, nearly 300 as Jewish and the remaining 1,000 representing the general population. Despite being less likely to hold U.S. citizenship compared to other groups — roughly four out of five Muslims interviewed were U.S. citizens compared to the 92% to 99% citizenship rate of other groups — answers by Muslim respondents indicated a willingness to serve at similar or higher rate when compared to other demographics. Eleven percent of Muslim respondents said they would serve, a number exceeding the 10% of Catholics and Protestants and the 9% of non-religious participants […]
