Muslims, too, die for America

On the NBC channel's “Meet the Press”, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President. In his endorsement, Powell said he was troubled that some Republicans have been spreading rumors that Obama is a Muslim.

"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

Powell went on to say that he feels strongly about this particular point because of a picture he saw in the The New Yorker magazine. He said it was "a photo essay about American troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards—Purple Heart, Bronze Star—showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life." (The New Yorker online)

Here's the photo of Elsheba Khan taken at the grave of her son Kareen Rashad Sultan Khan. It was taken for The New Yorker by the photographer Platon at the Arlington National Cemetery.