Arab peers reviled an Arab-American Muslim-named soldier for serving in Iraq

Evidence

Is blood thicker than water? This is the question swirling around Sami. But his disagreements with the others are less theoretical in character. Rather, they hang like talismans around his neck. When I asked him about these verbal sparrings, he reached under his collar and pulled out his dog tags. “I chill with a lot of Arab guys now, and they hate these!” he said, looking right through me. “They ask me how many Iraqis did I kill, how could I fight in this war.” (One of the guys from his university told me, “There are two people whose bodies I will not pray over: Yasir Arafat and that soldier.”) Sami doesn’t care much for the criticism. He thinks most of it is armchair politics, misplaced and misinformed. He’s been to Iraq, and they haven’t. He didn’t kill anyone, didn’t see much direct combat, and now he is strongly critical of the war but solidly behind the troops. Yet Sami is still something quite rare in the United States today. He’s an Arab-American soldier, an accidental fighter–turned–proud marine who has been away from his formal education for four years because he has served two tours in Iraq. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 183 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Arab Americans are drastically underrepresented in the US armed forces; Arab-American soldiers faced ostracism within their own community for serving in Iraq — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 183; Arab and Muslim Americans are forced to perform loyalty and apologize for others’ acts (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Arab-American soldiers faced ostracism within their own community for serving in Iraq #expands (0.95) — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 183
• Arab and Muslim Americans are forced to perform loyalty and apologize for others’ acts #complicates (0.72)