Abuhena Saifulislam

Commander Abuhena Saifulislam (in U.S. records) or Abu Hena Saiful Islam, (Bengali: আবু হেনা সাইফুল ইসলাম), (born 1963) is a Bangladeshi-American who is the first Muslim naval officer appointed as an imam chaplain serving with units in the Marine Corps.

He was granted US citizenship towards the end of 1995 while he was working in the U.S. Navy in the payroll and accounting department.

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.

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.

I was already involved in religious activities inside the Pentagon (Defense Department headquarters), establishing Friday services and other such things.