Sacrifices Are Not Made In Vain
By: Ahmed Khan

It was a 4th of July weekend when my friends and I went to see "The Patriot" starring Mel Gibson. And the late Heath Ledger. While we went to see the movie partly our of a spirit of patriotism, my cousin Mahmood Sarwar who was supposed to go with us missed out on a great movie.

In the movie Benjamin Martin, a peaceful farmer played by Mel Gibson, was driven to lead a colonial militia in the American Revolution with his elder son Gabriel Martin played by Heath Ledger. The murder of his younger son early on made Benjamin believe that serving to protect his nation was the ultimate calling.

Growing up, I had a certain connection with Mahmood even though he was three years younger than me. We did many things together, whether it was going to the movies or playing basketball and had many shared interests. One day in 2005 when visiting from Houston, he told me about his future plans. He wanted to join the Navy.

In "The Patriot," Gabriel was an ambitious youth who wanted to serve his country at all costs because it was the right thing to do at the time. He was killed in in the end in combat. I remember thinking my cousin is going to unnecessarily put himself within harm's way. My thinking was naïve. This is the kind of sacrifice he and men and women like him are willing to make for America.

The war that ensured shortly after 9/11 has claimed the lives of many U.S. service men and women. However the death of Osama binLaden did, to some extent, bring closure to the families of the victims of 9/11 and marginalized the threat of al-Qaeda.

In joining the Navy, my cousin fulfilled his pledge to the youth auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA (www.mkausa.org). Every member of our auxiliary pledges to sacrifice our life for the sake of our nation and faith. This practice is in complete agreement with the Quran, which instructs (Quran 4:60) Muslims to be obedient to the rule of law and the government. Mahmood believed this, even if it meant for him to be deployed to a dangerous country like Iraq in 2009. His father, an imam, taught him that there is no conflict between his loyalty to his nation and loyalty to his faith.

I am grateful that he safely returned from his tour in Iraq but for those who did not, this Memorial Day is for them. President Abraham Lincoln said it best in his letter to a Mrs. Bixby, thanking her for the sacrifice her sons had made while dying on the field of battle, "the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save."

I would like to think that if my cousin had gone to see "The Patriot" with us it would have been much more fun but, then again, he was well on his way to being the patriot.