Honoring the Veterans, Including the Muslims of America
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Faithful citizens obey the laws of their countries, and respect the norms of society they live in. When called to serve, they show up for duty. In doing so, they set examples for others to follow. The Veterans Day in the United States of America and many countries around the world is to honor those people who put the interests of the country ahead of the concerns of their personal safety.
When you look around, there are so many friends and neighbors who as faithful citizens pay their dues and serve when called upon. It is the story of such people that should be in the folklore – to be spread amongst families who are reading this tribute - from this generation to the next, and beyond.
Take for example, Abdul Khaliq Raja whom the author met in 1978 after Friday prayers at American Fazl Mosque around Kalorama Heights and which is the longest serving mosque in Washington DC.
As the Veterans Day arrives every year, memories of the friendship of a lifetime comes into focus. The chair Raja Sahib used to sit on looks rather lonely. Though, he is not amongst his friends today physically, he lives in many hearts for his simplicity and sincerity.
Before coming to America from Pakistan in 1966 with a permanent resident visa - otherwise known as the green card. While receiving his green card in the US Consul’s Office in Lahore, because of his age Raja Sahib was informed about the Draft Laws being enforced when the Vietnam War was raging with fury. He took the oath, as they say, “without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”
To understand the times and circumstances in which Raja Sahib arrived in the US, one might want to note his experiences during the journey, which was not by a jet plane but by sea on the “Queen Elizabeth” sailing from Southampton in England. While eating a meal one day on the ship, he was told that he was sitting on a “whites only” table. This was the first time in his life that he had to move due to the color of his skin.
On March 23, 1970, Raja Sahib was drafted into the US Army for two years. After his basic training and a course in artillery ballistics, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of 32nd Artillery, which was fighting in Vietnam.
The flight for Vietnam took off from Seattle and stopped in Japan for refueling. There he met his father Major A. Hamid Raja, a World War II veteran, who was working in Japan as a missionary. The father and son prayed together before Raja Sahib’s flight for Vietnam took off for Vietnam. After serving a tour of duty during the Vietnam War, Raja Sahib returned to the United States to resume civilian life and pursuit of education. Upon graduation, he joined the US Veterans Service Administration and served as a Certified Public Accountant for several decades until his death on November 17, 2003. He was survived by his wife and three kids. As a volunteer, he put in long hours for years to serve the community in the United States.
Following his father as a role model, Raja Sahib’s older son Omar Raja enlisted in the US Army after graduation and served two tours of duty in Iraq. A hard worker with a sensitive soul, Omar Raja kept a journal during the tours of duty.
“At night you constantly hear helicopters hovering above; you hear the occasional small arms fire, and explosions every now and then. Everything is barricaded this time, one of the most visible differences of this deployment,” wrote Omar Raja in his journal in early May 2007 at the start of the second tour of duty in Iraq.
“The one day I was looking forward to the day I would finally come home after having survived basic combat training at Fort Benning and my first two weeks at Fort Gordon. That was to be the 18th of December. The night before, I was preparing to come home, having packed everything I was to take home with me and having dressed in my class A uniform, the uniform I really wanted my dad to see me in.” So, the December 18, 2003 journal entry starts, and it is one that is difficult to finish. Because the night before his Dad had already died.
“The 18th of December, a day we both had anxiously been waiting for my 2 weeks of leave
But only was I to come home to what I could just not bear to believe
The night before, dressed in uniform, I was preparing for my return home to you
The very same night that you ultimately surrendered your soul to Allah in the ICU
On the drive home from the airport did I inquire about your state
And was told you were in the hospital, not having a clue in the world that I was already too late
Arriving home with a smile on my face, unaware that life had taken a cruel turn
Did I then hear the words ‘To Allah we belong and to Him must we return. ’”
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