My parents, both teachers, taught my siblings Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that Muslims, both women and men, should pursue high levels of education and give back to society.
At the Democratic National Convention last week, Khizr Khan spoke about his son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who gave his life serving our country. The speech caused my brother and me to reflect upon our own years spent serving our nation in the U.S. Army many years ago and now as medical doctors.
My brother and I served in the U.S. Army for years. We are proud Muslim American U.S. Army veterans and strong believers in the promise of America. We both stayed in the Greater Seattle area after leaving the Army. I moved to Lakewood where I started work as a psychiatrist, and my brother moved to Seattle to start a dental clinic.
I enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1984. I did whatever needed to be done. I cleaned and washed Army property, trucks and buildings. After finishing a licensed practical nurse course, I worked as a combat medical specialist to provide first aid in a combat situation. They say an injured soldier yells for a medic first and his mother later. I was training to be a combat medic who answers that call. Since I served during peace time, I worked at the Seattle Veterans Affairs hospital.
Serving in the U.S. Army were some of the best times, and I formed lifelong friendships.
My parents, both teachers, taught my siblings Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that Muslims, both women and men, should pursue high levels of education and give back to society. Inspired by these Islamic teachings, my brother, two of our sisters and I pursued medical school and have served for years as medical doctors.
My family knows that the defining characteristic of American
Muslims has been a deep commitment to serving our country and giving back to our society.
According to the U.S. Defense Department, 10,000 to 20,000 American Muslims are serving in our nation’s armed forces, and many have made the ultimate sacrifice — including Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Waters-Bey, Army Staff Sgt. Ayman Abdelrahman Taha, Army Spc. Kareem Khan, Army Maj. James Ahearn, U.S. Army Spc. Rasheed Sahib and Army Capt. Humayun Khan, among several more.
Some 50,000 American Muslim medical doctors across the U.S. are saving lives every day. Thousands of American Muslims are nurses providing compassionate care. Thousands of American Muslims are public-school teachers engaging and inspiring the next generation of Americans. Thousands of American Muslims are serving as law-enforcement officers keeping us all safe.
My brothers and I know that most American Muslims share the same American values and freedoms we all cherish, knowing we are all in this together. American Muslims uphold the Constitution and U.S. laws and share our country’s strong family values and are dedicated to raising and educating children.
I am asking fair-minded Americans, as well as fair-minded business and political leaders, to take every opportunity to publicly and vocally affirm American values of religious freedom.
And at every opportunity, I wish all citizens would publicly tell stories of the lives and contributions of American Muslims they know. By doing this, they’ll remind fellow Americans that while some may try to divide us, we are, and always will be, united as “one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”