Navy Now Has Muslim Chaplain

The Navy has its first Muslim chaplain: Lt.j.g. Monje Malak Abd al-Muta’ Ali Noel Jr.

Noel, from Salem, N.J., is the U.S. military’s second Islamic chaplain. Army chaplain Capt. Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad is based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The new chaplain recently completed a master of divinity program at the Lutheran School of Theology and the American Islamic College in Chicago, the Navy said Friday.

In a 1995 survey, 2,400 Navy officers and enlisted personnel reported they were members of the Islamic faith, a Navy spokesman said.