Jamie Eatmon, co-host of the radio program Pray for Me at WKZK 1600-AM, says he considers himself a Muslim and a Christian. ANNETTE M. DROWLETTE/STAFF

When the serviceman was transferred to Augusta, he was Muslim, though he'd grown up Baptist with a touch of Holiness thrown in.

There are some 4,000 Muslims in the U.S. military. Most are black, and some are in the Nation of Islam, according to wire service reports.

After being in Augusta, he made a discovery, he said. "It is not about (being) Muslim, but about God."

Mr. Eatmon, a co-host on Pray for Me with Caroline Alexander on WKZK-AM (1600), still considers himself Muslim because he has submitted to God's will and at the same time Christian because he wants to be "Christlike."

"Most black Muslims consider themselves Christian," said Mr. Eatmon, who believes both religions are valid because they encourage a moral life.

Muslims are monotheistic, worshiping the God of Abraham. In Islam's view, Christ was a prophet, his mother, Mary, the most chaste of women, but it refutes Christ's divinity and other central truths of Christianity.

On the air, Mr. Eatmon discusses issues relating to God and righteous living with guests and callers.

The show focuses on where callers are in life and what changes they've experienced, he said. "If you really believe and trust God, that brings about hope, and you can change" for the better.

He suspects that most listeners consider the show Christian-oriented, "but it is truth-based," he said.

He doesn't get Muslim callers on the air, but they do write him letters, asking about Christianity. "They heard the teachings and want to learn more," said Mr. Eatmon, who also publishes The Rise, a bimonthly tabloid that covers Christian activities in the Augusta area.

"I am Muslim, and I am Christian. Today I am above (being one or the other)," he said. "Thank God that I was exposed to the teachings of both."

Reach Virginia Norton at (706) 823-3336 or vanorton@augustachronicle.com.