[ WAR IN IRAQ ]
Isle Muslims pray U.S. Marine Master Sgt. Saeed Rasool is a man of conflicting passions.
for all in war
By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comOn one hand, he is a fiercely loyal member of the U.S. military, dedicated to protecting America from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
On the other hand, he is a man of peace who tries his best to follow the word of Allah as a member of the Muslim faith.
As U.S.-led coalition forces sweep through Iraq, all Rasool and other members of Hawaii's Muslim congregation can do is offer prayers for both sides.
"This is very, very hard as a Muslim," Rasool said yesterday during a special Muslim prayer service at the Aleo Place mosque in Manoa. "We pray for the dead, the people of Iraq and for humanity."
The service was intended to "pray for an end to this horrible war, for the safety of all the innocent Iraqi people and the immediate and safe return of our young American men and women," according to a news release by Hakim Ouansafi, president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii.
While there was a guard posted at the entrance of the mosque yesterday, the gathering was friendly, with congregation members shaking hands and greeting the news media with smiles.
Rasool, part of the 3rd Marine Regimental Armory at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe, is a Gulf War veteran and remembers "thousands of Iraqi soldiers surrendering" to U.S. troops.
Though he describes his fellow Marines as a unit that "no military in the world can go up against," Rasool wishes they were not on the front lines right now.
"I know a lot of them," he said. "Very close friends.
"It is very, very hard when young men and women go to war."
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