Muslims in the Military: Reflections of an American Muslim soldier

We didn’t start the fire

I am a former US Army soldier that served in Iraq as a Medic. I didn’t shoot anyone or shoot at them, nor did I humiliate or disrespect any prisoners or any other Iraqi citizen. My decision to become a soldier wasn’t politically or patriotically based. To me it was just a job. At the time I enlisted I had no clue Bush would be elected president or that I was going to Iraq to be involved in a illegal war started by a lying president. In fact, many Americans feel the same way I do. Please understand, before you continue reading this, that I in no way support G.W. Bush or his foreign policy.

There are 3 different views that middle easterners need to be aware of. First, not all Americans are egotistical, war mongering, cowboys that would just as soon shoot you before helping you. Second, all American soldiers that work in Iraq (viewed as occupiers) are not cruel, murdering individuals. Third, not all the pain and suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people is the fault of US soldiers.

As a US Army Medic, I was responsible for treating injured US and Iraqi soldiers and injured Iraqi civilians. In my spare time, I ran a small medical clinic and helped citizens as best I could with the medicines I had. My unit also supplied water, clothes and food to people who needed them. There are many good things that US soldiers do that both Arab and American media will never report.

But there is also another tragic truth that is being ignored in Iraq. The so called “freedom fighters” in Iraq are killing, bombing and kidnapping other Muslims in the name of Jihad. The Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, would be angered by such actions.

In 2003, I was in Iraq at the time a group of suicide bombers bombed 3 mosques during a Shiite Holiday. The final death toll was 220 people. The worst patient I treated from this horrible act was a 5 year old child with severe burns. The child lived but his family wasn’t as fortunate. I saw the look in his eyes as his grandmother told him that his parents and brother didn’t make it.

So imagine trading places with her or me. Try telling him why his world has come to an end because some idiot with a bomb on his chest killed his entire family. Do you think he would understand, or more importantly, do you think he would care for any lame excuse anyone could offer him? Look that child in his eyes and tell him a brave holy warrior took their lives to prove a cause made worthless by the act of murder.

Don’t get me wrong, if a person wants to strap a bomb to his chest and kill himself WITHOUT harming the people around him, then by all means have a blast. The true name for these people should not be martyrs or terrorists, but murderers. If Zarqawi and other groups of armed idiots have a problem with US soldiers, then they should take it up with them. Even terrorists and so-called militia resistances should have a sense of decency and common sense to not act like cowards and attack their perceived enemy – not unarmed men, women, and children.

The Iraqi people have far more to worry about than US soldiers. The issue of Muslim-on-Muslim violence needs to be addressed. While the focus is currently in Iraq today, beware. Tomorrow it could happen in your community. The bombing in Jordan and Egypt is proof that this spreading. Although I don’t agree with all policies of Israel, they have one of the most active anti terrorist programs in the Middle East. Eventually all the countries in the region will have to become as aggressive as Israel to show these cowards that their actions will not be tolerated.

Here in America, we have the right to bear arms to defend our individual homes. We do not have the right to walk down the streets with guns. If you see people in your communities walking around with AK-47’s during demonstrations, or any other time for that matter, they need to be reported to the authorities. Your local politicians need to make it a top priority to protect all citizens, regardless of religious or ethnic background. Here in America it’s understood that if you see someone walking down the street with a gun, regardless of who it is, they are up to no good.

I urge you all to stand up for your communities. People like Zarqawi have no respect for you, they are only interested in their own twisted little agendas. It’s time to let him, his supporters and other people like him know, that hard working, innocent, and peace-loving Muslim communities will not tolerate the loss of their families to their stupidity and dreams of ill-gotten glory. The actions of these few are making us as a whole look bad. Islam is about peace, and as true Muslims we have a moral duty to take a stand against extremism to show the terrorists and the world that Islam Is not a terrorist-based religion.

I would like to tell everyone not to hate the average American citizen or soldier. Direct your hatred in a positive manner toward politicians for their foreign policy decisions. None of them have family members involved in the Iraqi conflict and have nothing to lose. As for the average American citizen, everyone knows someone or has a loved one deployed to Iraq.

I challenge you all to start a peaceful Jihad in the form of a letter writing campaign. Look up US Congressmen and Senators office addresses on the web and fill their offices to the ceiling with letters telling them to stay out Middle Eastern affairs, mind their own business, and end this war.

Nasir Cray is a recent convert to Islam who served with the US Army in Iraq.