Posted on 04/04/2003 2:55:58 PM PST by OriginalV
FORT HOOD, Texas -- Like many soldiers here preparing to ship off to war, Yusef Al-Ghamdi spends a lot of time thinking about his parents. But he isn't worrying about how they would react if he were injured or killed. He's worrying about how they'd react to his serving in the Army in the first place.
A tank driver for the 166th Armor Battalion here, Mr. Al-Ghamdi is well liked by his officers and fellow enlisted men. But he's also a devout Muslim from a prominent Saudi Arabian family, so nothing about his Army stint can be described as simple. He hasn't told his parents, who live in Jeddah, that he enlisted; his Saudi Arabian father would be aghast that his son chose the U.S. Army over the Saudi one. His family name is so well known in the Middle East, he says, that he has gotten permission to cover the name tag on his uniform for his own safety, once he deploys to Kuwait.
"Most Arabs would kill me on sight if they saw my name on an American uniform," he says. "They would try to take me out before a general so they could say they killed a traitor to his tribe and religion."
The death of two American officers by grenade at the hands of a Muslim American soldier in Kuwait nine days ago focused new attention on the possible security risks of Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces during a conflict condemned by Islamic leaders all over the globe. The suspect in that attack, Hasan Akbar, 32 years old, returned to the U.S. last Friday and is in detention awaiting a military trial that could result in his getting the death penalty. The Pentagon estimates that about 4,000 Muslims serve in the U.S. military. But some Muslim American groups say the actual number is closer to 20,000, with many soldiers reluctant to identify themselves as Muslim for fear of discrimination. Most are African-American.
Mr. Al-Ghamdi, who is 22, describes himself as an American patriot -- one who chokes up at spectacles such as Fourth of July independence day parades and images of dead American soldiers in movies and on television. He rejects the notion that the war against Iraq is a war against Islam.
"Religion has nothing to do with this," Mr. Al-Ghamdi says. "Guys like Saddam and Osama bin Laden are just evil, crazy people."
He turned down a headquarters job that offered better accommodations and stronger chances for promotion to stay with his unit as it goes into combat because, he says, he's "just a simple soldier."
An incessant smoker who is fond of baggy urban clothing, Mr. Al-Ghamdi is the son of an American mother who converted to Islam before marrying his father, a member of a prominent Saudi family. Born in Jeddah on the shores of the Red Sea, Mr. Al-Ghamdi went to school there but spent summers with his mother's family in Chicago.
When he graduated from high school in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Al-Ghamdi got an entry-level job with the Saudi national oil company, Saudi Aramco, but quickly grew frustrated by the work and was desperate to find an opportunity for more adventure and a better life. After about two years, he left the job and headed for Chicago to visit his relatives and think things over. He was in a cab bound for New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sept. 11, 2001, when he saw one of the World Trade Center towers explode in a fireball. He watched as the second hijacked plane crashed into the other tower. He enlisted in the Army three months later.
He didn't tell his parents; he already knew they wouldn't approve of his decision. His mother, who had become religiously conservative after converting to Islam, had long said that the Army was no place for a good Muslim boy. She had told him that her father had seen homosexuality and rampant drug abuse when he served in the Army during World War II. His father, meanwhile, had made it clear over the years that he would take it as a personal slight and an embarrassment to the family name if his son ever joined the American, and not Saudi Arabian, army.
Even as he is getting ready to go to war, Mr. Al-Ghamdi doesn't plan to tell his parents he's in the Army. And, even though he is openly talking to a reporter about the situation, Mr. Al-Ghamdi is hoping his secret will remain safe because his parents are accustomed to not hearing from him for months at a time. For the same reason, he uses a post office box and has no cellular phone.
"It would be a disgrace to them," he says, staring at his feet. "My father is pure Saudi, and he would think I was turning my back on that and ignoring my family heritage."
Mr. Al-Ghamdi, who eats kosher or vegetarian food and worships at a Muslim community center just outside the base, was busy making his last-minute preparations to head to the war zone when Mr. Akbar rolled three grenades into a tent half a world away. He says he didn't hear about the incident until late last week. He says he hasn't experienced any anti-Muslim discrimination in the Army. Still, the issue is sensitive: Neither the head of the community center nor the Muslim chaplain of the base would comment for this story.
He has harsh words for his native country, insisting that "Saudis are just completely brainwashed to hate the U.S. and see it as an enemy."
Mr. Al-Ghamdi's commanding officer, Capt. James Wells, says he's confident of the soldier's loyalty. He says the unit has benefited from his knowledge of the pronunciation of key Arabic phrases they are memorizing. Mr. Al-Ghamdi also has provided cultural pointers, like urging them to avoid showing the bottoms of their feet or flashing the thumb's up sign -- both of which are insults in Arab countries.
"There's been no indication of any underlying feelings or emotions that would lead him to do something like what happened in Kuwait," Capt. Wells says. "He's a very good, very motivated soldier."
As a result, Capt. Wells quickly agreed to Mr. Al-Ghamdi's unusual request to obscure his nametag when the unit deploys to Kuwait. Mr. Al-Ghamdi hopes he can do so by pulling his flack vest up towards his collar. If that doesn't work, he plans to use a long piece of black tape.
Maybe, and just maybe, this guy is the first rational guy (a Muslim) who's actually taking an active role against radical Islamic factions. I am very surprised to even hear this - for too long the "majority" of muslims have stood back and let themselves be manhandled by their mullahs and imams. And when you stand back and let yourself be manhandled, you often get what you deserve.
Uhh... I don't think so.
Uhh... I don't think so.
The dad was in the Saudi army.
But appearently the family doesn't see it an embarrassment to their name that one of the 9/11 hijackers was named Saeed Al-Ghamdi.
"Most Arabs would kill me on sight if they saw my name on an American uniform," he says. "They would try to take me out before a general so they could say they killed a traitor to his tribe and religion."
When a religion against the dhimmit and infidel bearing arms sees one of their own arming the dhimmit, it makes them angry. That said, these useful idiots don't get Muhammad's dictum of free his men to conquer the world. For some reason, after castrating women away, this religion is turning gay and castrating their own men too.
No, the mother is American, from Chicago....and so is her father.
Well, then, it's a good thing he hasn't talked to any reporters and told them his story!
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