Ex-soldier finds peace in Islam
Soldiers would knock on Iraqis' doors in the dark hours and present a card written in Arabic explaining their mission. The soldiers stayed in the homes for several hours at a time.
As a squad leader, it was Fernandes' job to put his finger on the pulse of a neighborhood, he said. He developed a rapport with the civilians and drew out information he could use to plan raids or patrols in the area.
Amid Fernandes' probing, the people remained amicable, he said. Although all avoided politics like verbal land mines, they talked with the sergeant about family, the other soldiers and their faith. Families even brought them tea or invited the squad for dinner.
"The first time around was really the first experience I've had with Muslims," Fernandes said. "Throughout the whole year I was there ... I was pretty impressed by the hospitality."
Fernandes returned from his first deployment in June 2004 and, during a visit to Lititz, Pa., learned that his father, Jerry Fernandes, once a devout Catholic, had converted to Islam.
The sergeant didn't strike out at his father upon learning the news. He calmly listened to the Vietnam veteran tell how he became curious about the faith when his son deployed to Iraq because he, like his son, had once been touched by Islamic hospitality. His father's good friend was a Muslim who had raised Jerry Fernandes for a short time when he was a teenager.
"I had to try to understand all this because all I was hearing was Islamic terrorist this, Islamic terrorist that," said the elder Fernandes.
The sergeant's curiosity was piqued, and he coiled his mind around Islam by interrogating his father further and reading up on the faith. He even went to his father's mosque and spoke with the imam, or prayer leader, about Islam.
Sgt. Fernandes converted to Islam in just one month after being drawn, in part, by the fact that the Quran, unlike the Bible, has never been revised. Now he is a strict Muslim.
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As a squad leader, it was Fernandes' job to put his finger on the pulse of a neighborhood, he said. He developed a rapport with the civilians and drew out information he could use to plan raids or patrols in the area.
Amid Fernandes' probing, the people remained amicable, he said. Although all avoided politics like verbal land mines, they talked with the sergeant about family, the other soldiers and their faith. Families even brought them tea or invited the squad for dinner.
"The first time around was really the first experience I've had with Muslims," Fernandes said. "Throughout the whole year I was there ... I was pretty impressed by the hospitality."
Fernandes returned from his first deployment in June 2004 and, during a visit to Lititz, Pa., learned that his father, Jerry Fernandes, once a devout Catholic, had converted to Islam.
The sergeant didn't strike out at his father upon learning the news. He calmly listened to the Vietnam veteran tell how he became curious about the faith when his son deployed to Iraq because he, like his son, had once been touched by Islamic hospitality. His father's good friend was a Muslim who had raised Jerry Fernandes for a short time when he was a teenager.
"I had to try to understand all this because all I was hearing was Islamic terrorist this, Islamic terrorist that," said the elder Fernandes.
The sergeant's curiosity was piqued, and he coiled his mind around Islam by interrogating his father further and reading up on the faith. He even went to his father's mosque and spoke with the imam, or prayer leader, about Islam.
Sgt. Fernandes converted to Islam in just one month after being drawn, in part, by the fact that the Quran, unlike the Bible, has never been revised. Now he is a strict Muslim.
click here for full article
posted by purvis at 8:16 PM
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