Mootaz-khelifi
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Muslim's in the US military
Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., counts upwards of 15,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guard members.
Like servicemen and women of other faiths, American troops who study Islam's Quran are as loyal as anyone, said Uqdah, whose organization helps recruit and endorse Muslim chaplains for the armed forces. "These troops are focusing on getting ready and are ready to execute the commander in chief's orders," Uqdah said. "Muslim men and women are no different from anyone else in the military."
Some American Muslim soldiers have been killed in Iraq. For example, Army Captain Humayun Khan, 27, was killed in Iraq in 2004 when he tried to stop a suicide bomber from attacking an American compound. Army Spc. Azhar Ali, 27, was killed in 2005 in Iraq by a roadside bomb that blew up his vehicle while he was on patrol. In 2007, Army Spc. Kareem R. Khan, 20, died in Iraq when a bomb detonated while he and other soldiers were checking abandoned houses for explosives; Khan was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Captain Abdullah Hulwe, a Muslim chaplain in Iraq, says his presence in Iraq helps the military develop better relations with Iraqi Muslims, and helps reduce the anger that some American soldiers have towards ordinary Iraqis, which makes both Americans and Iraqis safer. Major Abdul-RasheedMirza Bashir Ahmad says other soldiers in his unit in Iraq seek his help in establishing good relations with Iraqis.
Some American Muslims in the military have said they are uncomfortable having to fight against Muslims in Afghanistan or Iraq. In June 2004, Sgt. 1st Class Abdullah Webster was jailed for refusing to deploy to Iraq; he had previously served with the military in Kosovo, where the enemy had been Serbian, not Muslim. Air Force Chaplain Captain Hamza Al-Mubarak testified on Sgt. Websters behalf that it would be better for Sgt. Webster to die than to take up arms against Muslims in Iraq. Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine and the head of the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council, says American Muslim soldiers must honor their contracts with the military, even if that means going to war in Muslim countries.
Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., counts upwards of 15,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guard members.
Like servicemen and women of other faiths, American troops who study Islam's Quran are as loyal as anyone, said Uqdah, whose organization helps recruit and endorse Muslim chaplains for the armed forces. "These troops are focusing on getting ready and are ready to execute the commander in chief's orders," Uqdah said. "Muslim men and women are no different from anyone else in the military."
Some American Muslim soldiers have been killed in Iraq. For example, Army Captain Humayun Khan, 27, was killed in Iraq in 2004 when he tried to stop a suicide bomber from attacking an American compound. Army Spc. Azhar Ali, 27, was killed in 2005 in Iraq by a roadside bomb that blew up his vehicle while he was on patrol. In 2007, Army Spc. Kareem R. Khan, 20, died in Iraq when a bomb detonated while he and other soldiers were checking abandoned houses for explosives; Khan was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Captain Abdullah Hulwe, a Muslim chaplain in Iraq, says his presence in Iraq helps the military develop better relations with Iraqi Muslims, and helps reduce the anger that some American soldiers have towards ordinary Iraqis, which makes both Americans and Iraqis safer. Major Abdul-RasheedMirza Bashir Ahmad says other soldiers in his unit in Iraq seek his help in establishing good relations with Iraqis.
Some American Muslims in the military have said they are uncomfortable having to fight against Muslims in Afghanistan or Iraq. In June 2004, Sgt. 1st Class Abdullah Webster was jailed for refusing to deploy to Iraq; he had previously served with the military in Kosovo, where the enemy had been Serbian, not Muslim. Air Force Chaplain Captain Hamza Al-Mubarak testified on Sgt. Websters behalf that it would be better for Sgt. Webster to die than to take up arms against Muslims in Iraq. Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine and the head of the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council, says American Muslim soldiers must honor their contracts with the military, even if that means going to war in Muslim countries.
