Recently Col. Khalid Shahbaz visited Saudi Arabia on 11th, Feb 2022. Apart from being a Muslim, he is also a high-ranking US Military Officer. Here we will discuss the purpose of visiting this American soldier to the Kingdom. According to an estimate, the total active army of the US is 481,254. And more than 5,000 Muslim soldiers are currently serving in the US military. During this visit, Shahbaz also performed Umrah.
Here you can get a complete stunning guide on How to Perform Umrah.
Purpose of Recently Col. Khalid Shahbaz visited Saudi Arabia
Shahbaz told in an interview to Arab News. “My impression of Kingdom was almost hypnotic. I loved everything about it.” He also told that I felt at peace and like my life has been a purpose of getting here all my life. He also told in the interview his visiting purpose of Saudia is to fulfil my destiny of getting close to God.
During this period, he also met his Saudi counterparts. No doubt, many Muslims and others consider living in America as a attain a lavish lifestyle. But the example of Shahbaz is different from those thoughts.
He said practising his faith is an important part of his Military job. Shahbaz is a chaplain who provides support and religious counselling to thousands of US soldiers. Being a secular state, there are many Chaplains or priests from various religions. Some of them are Christian, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and others but Christians are in large.
If we talked about how many Muslim Chaplains are in the US army then Shahbaz reveals this secret. He said they are 6. And he is one of these 6.
He declared the dress of Ihram is the insignia of Islamic Chaplains, as like other religions priests represent. And this is a crescent for Muslims. Shahbaz said faith-based counselling is only a tiny part of what a chaplain does when he puts on a soldier’s uniform.
He asserted that his job was to provide emotional support to every soldier, regardless of religion.
Apart from visiting holy places and performing religious duty, another purpose of Shahbaz coming to Saudi Arabia was to enhance military to military cooperation between both allies. He told about Saudis in his interview that they are professional and strategically goals. They want the highest level of education for their imams to lead in the fight against extremism.
He also met before the Saudi delegation in South Carolina in late December. Assistant General Director of Religious Affairs- Musfer Hassan M. Al-Qahtani has led a group of 7 Saudi Military officers at the time of meeting with Shahbaz and his companions.
Saudi Arabia is a developed country but lags in the arms race. The purpose of this short visit was to build ties and fight extremism and promote religious tolerance. And Shahbaz was one of those American military officers, who had welcomed the Saudi delegation and prayed with them.
The past of a Muslim soldier is not very bright. He was raised as a Christian and attended a Christian university in Texas. He was a prominent Basketball player, but he fell in with the wrong crowd.
One evening, someone has beaten him with a shovel and then shot him in his back during violent quarrelling. The university kicked out Shahbaz when he went back to university after recovering. He called this a good moment because that’s moment forced him to join the military.
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Why did Shahbaz call it a good moment?
Let us know why he called it a good moment. In 1990, during his army service, Shabaz started to take an interest in the ideas and life of Islamic leader Malik El-Shabaz. He was an African-American Islamic leader, also known as Malcolm X.
Influenced by Malcolm X’s ideas, he converted to Islam. After converting, he opted ‘Shahbaz’ as his last name while paying homage to this hero. Now, he began to focus on Islamic studies after the meeting with a Christian Chaplain during his military career.
This Military officer completed his Arabic studies in Jordan. He also stayed in Jordan during his visit to Saudi Arabia. By the way, Shahbaz is also a TikTok star and said in his final post from Makkah that I finally earned my Shahbaz after 26 years. Here Shahbaz means “purpose of life,” which he attributed to Malcolm X.
He also said that he found a solution to overcome the problem of racial prejudice that is Islam. During the pilgrimage, He saw all world colours without distinction in the short space area (Masjid Al Haram).
The performing Umrah is not an American Muslim Dream weather it is also the dream of every Muslim in the world. New restrictions and expenses may divert your intention of performing Umrah. But taking yourself close to Lord is possible in this religious activity. So, don’t regret any interruptions. Just try to find the best travel agency that can offer you Umrah packages according to your budget.
