ISIS Among Us
And They Didn’t Come As Refugees
I am disgusted. And saddened. I see the same ideology that I fought against in Afghanistan creeping into my daily life. I see it online in social media and in public at the local watering hole during happy hour or during conversation while getting a haircut at the neighborhood barber shop. This spring will mark four years since I last fired a shot in anger and returned to America. I hope I never have to again, but if it comes to that, I’m thankful I have the ability to stand for my beliefs against the intolerant, fear-mongering, and un-American stigmatizing of Muslim refugees.
I won’t speak generally, but in my personal network, I’m fairly certain I know more Muslims than anybody spouting off the inaccurate and ignorant views about the dangers of Syrian refugees. I’m also fairly certain I’ve had more Muslims try to kill me than most sharing those same views. You’ll excuse me if I didn’t get to know those Muslims as well as I could have. But I do know one thing about them, without a doubt. They did not try to kill us, they did not shoot at us, they did not mortar us, they did not bomb us, because they were Muslim. They did all of that to us and to other Muslims because of our beliefs. Those beliefs were a threat to their power and their despotism and their ability to continue to profit from the oppression of other people.
You may remember those beliefs from your grade-school education. Something about “all men are created equal” or “certain unalienable rights” like “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I’ve had other opportunities to see parts of the world that are not the United States and I’ve added a few of my own beliefs. I believe little boys and little girls should be able to attend the same school and receive the same education and the same opportunities. I believe it’s more important to drill a well so the women and children don’t have to trek down to the river and carry the sludge-brown water on their backs to the village than to pave another 100 yards of the local elder’s driveway. I believe that a woman leaving her abusive husband without his permission should not be thrown in jail for breaking the law. I believe that you cannot kill your daughters or your sisters because they did something that offends your fragile sense of masculinity. I believe you should be able to drive down the road without having to stop every 10 miles to pay the next armed bandit for safe passage. I believe that power is used to protect the weak, not enrich the strong. I believe that human life is valuable and that its value does not change based on your gender, race, ethnicity, or country-of-origin. I believe all this and more, but ultimately that America stands for freedom and liberty and those that would sacrifice either for security deserve neither.
Compromising American values is a bigger defeat than any loss on the battlefield.
When you denigrate a whole group of people because of their religion you have more in common with ISIS’ ideology than with American values. When you use your power to protect what you have rather than to defend others you remind me more of a Taliban commander than somebody who pledges allegiance to my flag. I won’t go so far as to call you un-American, but your attitude is, and it’s in need of an adjustment.
Just as I encountered many Muslims that were actively trying to kill me and other Americans, I met many more that were willing to place their lives on the line and serve alongside American soldiers. They love their country and want a better life for their family just as much, and probably more, than you do — and they are fighting for it. If we truly want to defeat ISIS, we’re going to need those Muslims as allies. And right now, they’re just as sickened with you as I am.
So next time you want to pop off, take a moment and think: are you acting like an American or ISIS?
