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"Say No" to Islamophobia 

This is a story of many stories - a glimpse into the life of a patriotic American Muslim who desired to serve his country.

Recently a call was received from a Christian Chaplin wondering if a Muslim Chaplin could stop by the Hospital and help a young Muslim man with some serious mental difficulties.

Let's wind the time back to 4 years ago.

A Marine recruiter had thought to score triple points towards his quota by recruiting this young man who was just turning nineteen. The young recruit was a Muslim who also spoke a little Arabic.  To add more excitement to this recruitment, the parents of this young man are Iraqi Americans.

Normally, Muslims never identify themselves or even ask if they are Sunni or Shiaa, but this is an important point to make!  This young man, who was not religious by any means, was shipped to Iraq one year later and assigned to the Sunni region.  Can you guess if he is Sunni or Shiaa?

During the year he was in training and throughout his deployment to  the Sunni region, he was constantly drilled and trained  that Sunni Muslims are his enemies.

"I went to Falluja, and I was a killing machine" he said.  "I don't know how many I killed, but I killed so many".

Later the military sent him back to the US for a period of time. He found it to be very difficult at home, especially as his stories of the killing were offensive to his own parents and siblings.

A few months passed, and then he was shipped again to the Sunni region in Iraq.  Following orders, he tried to kill the maximum number of Iraqi Sunni Muslims. He believed his zealous combat would prove his loyalty to the United States Marines, his leaders, and his comrades in his unit. But somehow, regardless to how hard he tried to kill as many people as possible, he was never accepted by the other Marines.  They simply considered him inferior because, after all, he was also a Muslim, and an Iraqi very much like the enemy they were trained to kill.

He was often called bad names openly by his team, and they referred to him as "rag head" and other derogatory terms. This affected him even deeper than the feeling of guilt for the mass killing.  He endured this miserable treatment throughout the lengthy deployment, and finally his unit pulled out of the Sunni region. He was honorably  discharged recently and sent back home.

His family was no longer able to tolerate him. The military had kicked him out after they used him, and his fellow Marines had betrayed him.  Now he is home to face the reality - not only the betrayal, but his own conscience,  Away from Marine indoctrination, he could see that  there is no justification for any hatred towards Sunni Muslims. He now realizes that even the entire war is in itself totally illegal and immoral.

This young man, who had a tremendous and bright future before him, is now under psychiatric medical care.  He is visited on a regular basis by a Sunni Imam (Chaplin) who is helping him to repent, read the Qur'an, learn how to pray, and get back on the correct path.

This is a story full of stories.  What you have read is just a quick glimpse into the life of a single American Muslim Marine, who may still be asking himself, "What about all the stories of the lost lives of these innocent Iraqis I killed?"

First 180 - During the battles in Falluja.  Second 180 - In the hospital with the Muslim Imam.

Staff Writer: MuslimBridges.org 

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