A Muslim serving Uncle Sam

By MICHAEL RODDY

USS CARL VINSON - It isn't easy to find the direction to Mecca to say Muslim prayers five times a day on board a United States aircraft carrier launching bombing raids on Afghanistan from the Arabian Sea.

But these days that's the least of Pakistan-born Muhammad's worries.

A 34-year-old aircraft maintenance supervisor, Muhammad is one of a handful of practising Muslims on the USS Carl Vinson.

He is on the team helping to launch airstrikes that pass through Pakistani air space on their way to Afghanistan to punish its Taleban rulers for harbouring Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, blamed by the US for the September 11 hijack attacks which killed thousands.

A thin, wiry man who wears glasses and hunts down corrosion spots on fighters flying in the muggy, salty sea air, Muhammad said his shipmates had continued to behave towards him "as family" since the attacks, which set off anti-Muslim incidents in the US and elsewhere.

But he is worried about what may be in store for a world now frightened of random killings of civilians, and concerned about instability in the subcontinent where he grew up.

"I can understand their feelings, how they feel - the same as me," Muhammad said of the sentiments among the crew, whose spirits have soared since they began bombing raids to batter Taleban targets in Afghanistan.

"I don't think it's right, what happened. That's not the way to show anything, I mean, killing civilians, four to five thousand people.

"And that was not just Americans anyway. There were 30, 40 countries. That's not the right thing and whoever did it deserves something," he said.

With the bombing taking place in Afghanistan across the border from his native country, Muhammad, more than just about anyone in the crew, is acutely aware of what the US raids could mean for Pakistan and the region.

A revolution in Pakistan, whose leader President Pervez Musharraf has faced violent protests over the US use of Pakistani air space to attack Afghanistan, could cause political trouble for other countries in the region.

"The whole area will be unstable, not just Pakistan, but also India. In India there are more Muslims than Pakistan," Muhammad said.

He is also worried about possible hostility towards Muslims in the US when he returns.

But Muhammad said that for him, America provided hope for the future, and the Pakistan he left behind was beset by problems.

"That's why I ran away and I came to the US. I could not take it any more."

- REUTERS

Map: Opposing forces in the war against terror

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