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Islamic History Month seminar promotes inclusion in the CAF
By Nathan Stone,
Trident Staff
In honour of Islamic History Month in Canada, members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Muslim community led an educational seminar to help foster understanding with their colleagues at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax.
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Major (Maj) Riaz Ingar led the event which took place on October 25 in Juno Tower. Topics included educating attendees about Islam, the history of Muslims in the CAF, common requests that Muslim members make for religious accommodation and sharing the experiences of Muslims in the CAF.
Understanding the faith-based needs of Muslim members was a main theme of the day. Maj Ingar outlined common scenarios where the needs of Muslim members would call for accommodations. These include dietary restrictions on meat and alcohol, allowing time and a space for prayer during the day, and dress considerations, such as beard length.
Allowing for faith-based accommodations helps to integrate Muslim recruits into the CAF, said Maj Ingar.
“It gives recruits a sense of community, knowing sometimes that they feel a little detached from wherever they came from, they’re uprooted, they may be posted to a new environment, and that sense of community really helps build morale.”
He continued that Muslim recruits often feel uncomfortable requesting the accommodations they need.
“Our members sometimes feel reluctant to come forward because they do not want to stand out. They don’t want to ask for accommodations or feel like they’re disrupting the group.”
Senior Muslim CAF members and the CAF chaplaincy have a vital role to play in advocating for the needs of junior members, he said.
“What we try to do, as a network of Muslim Members within the CAF, is to reach out to those who want to practice their spirituality and mentor them in the proper mechanisms, the proper process to seek those accommodations… and to make sure we give them the right advice as to how they can approach their chain of command.”
For the senior officers attending the event, Maj Ingram provided examples of strategies they could employ to support Muslim members, which included adjusting training and duty schedules to allow time for prayer, allowing members fasting during Ramadan boxed meals that they can eat later, and to offer flexibility in attending events where alcohol may be present.
Maj Ingar stressed that Muslim members understand operational requirements may demand that certain accommodations cannot always be made.
He also touched on the roots of Muslim service in the CAF, describing a history that has not been fully uncovered, but that goes back at least as far as the First World War – 22 self-identified Muslim’s fought for Canada in the conflict.
Also covered was the more recent historic achievement of the late Lieutenant Commander (retired) Wafa Dabbagh, the first Muslim woman to wear a Hijab, a head covering worn as an expression of faith, while serving in the CAF in 1996.
In 2003 Army Captain Suleyman Demiray became the first Muslim Chaplain in the CAF. Maj Ingar also highlighted the accomplishments of the force’s Muslim chaplains, a group that now includes 10 members.
Attendees also heard from Imam Abdallah Yousri of the Ummah Society of Halifax, who spoke to attendees about the Islamic faith in general.
Like most faiths, Muslims do not all practice Islam in the same way and that their religious needs will differ, cautioned Imam Yousri. He stressed that Islam is a faith practiced throughout the world and there is no unified definition of what it means to be a Muslim.
“We do not have something called Muslim culture.”
He noted that Islamic values share much in common to those of the CAF. Highlighting that living with integrity, respect for the dignity of all people, service to one’s nation, obeying the law, showing courage and holding oneself accountable are qualities expected of Muslims and CAF members alike.
Maj Ingar said that he was grateful for the opportunity to honour Islamic History Month with the event and hopes the Muslim members at CFB Halifax can organize more community events in the future.
