Muslim American Heritage Month Celebration

Dalia Ayoub, thank you. Dr. Salaam, thank you for your service in the Air Force, and for your service in communities around the country as an Imam and civil rights leader in the years since. Your words, principles, and perspectives are as inspiring as they are important—the great value of diversity and diverse perspectives in strengthening the military, in strengthening society, in making our awesome country even stronger by drawing on the strength of all our people. You are a part of that unique strength of America.

Shereef Elnahal and our panel members—thank you for sharing your stories and experiences. And thanks to Nathan Maenle, Sammy Cuevas, the planning committee, and the production team for organizing this event.

I’ll bring things to a close by sharing a story. It’s the story of one of the four VA Muslim chaplains, Chaplain Omer Yigiter. Omer was raised in Central Turkey, born into a long line of schoolteachers. He went to school to study literature, earned his Master’s Degree, and he was preparing to start a PhD program when, one day, Omer decided to apply for a US green card. To his great delight, he was selected. A few months later, Omer found himself on a plane to start a new life in America—8,500 miles away from the city where he was born. Omer settled in Brooklyn. He had always been active in his faith community, so he started working as a counselor and mentor at a local community center—all while taking ESL classes, studying for the GRE, and volunteering as a Muslim chaplain at Riker’s Island. Imagine that. A new immigrant to the United States, still learning English, and he immediately starts contributing to his community—our community.

It was there, on Riker’s Island, that Omer met his first American Vets. And the experience changed the course of his life. You see, Riker’s had recently opened a tier dedicated for Vets in custody—the third floor designated for Veteran inmates, guarded by correctional officers who were Vets. Vets in the unit receive specialized counseling from psychologists. They get help with substance abuse. They attend Vet resource fairs. And there are other programs tailored for their unique experience and circumstance as Veterans. Those incarcerated Vets have built a strong community drawing on their shared experience and sacrifice in service to America, putting aside their differences, living together, breaking bread together, taking care of one another, learning about services available for them, especially services they’ll need when they leave incarceration and go back to their communities, back to life with family and friends. They hold themselves accountable, working together before problems spiral out of control. Their bond transcends walls and barriers. Together, they run the Veterans’ tier with pride that’s reflective of their service to our country.

And there at Rikers is where Omer started working with Muslim Veterans, praying with them, standing by their side, supporting them every step of the way, especially when times are hard. Omer’s great-grandfather was a Veteran in the Turkish military, and Omer saw him in the faces of these American Vets. So Omer would listen to their stories, meeting with hundreds of Muslim Vets, coming from all walks of life. He learned about the challenges they faced as Muslim Americans—challenges as kids, challenges in the military, and challenges in transitioning out of the military. And he saw many of those incarcerated Vets turn their lives around. Think about that. In one of the loneliest places in the world—behind the bars of a jail cell—Vets found someone to talk to, someone to share their stories of service, sacrifice, leadership with. And they found hope. Omer says he feels like he found his calling in his time there. Omer says, “The word service has multiple meanings in my culture and in my faith tradition. One of the best ways to serve God is to serve his creation … this informs my day-to-day activities and my faith practice.” “When I’m serving Veterans,” he continues, “I feel like I’m serving God.”

While working at the prison, Omer applied to a seminary program to become a full-time chaplain, registered for a clinical pastoral residency at the Manhattan VA, got his board certification, and completed the requirements for hospice and palliative care. He became a VA chaplain at the Northport VA Medical Center, the only Muslim chaplain serving all of VISN-2 and one of only four Muslim VA chaplains across the country. Sometimes a Muslim Vet or VA teammate drops by Omer’s office just to talk. They’re not in spiritual distress, but they feel compelled to tell him how empowering it is to know he’s there—a Muslim chaplain ready to care for their spiritual needs. Many of Muslim Vets tell him they never had a Muslim chaplain in the military. Now, they tell him, they feel seen and heard, many for the first time in their lives. Omer sums up the impact of our work at VA with one of his favorite quotes by Rumi—the 13th century poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic who lived just outside of Omer’s hometown. “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” As many candles as he’s lit himself, Omer’s candle still burns as brightly as ever. I’m proud to call him a teammate, and all of you.

We must learn and re-tell stories like those shared today—to ensure the experiences of Muslim American Veterans are acknowledged and honored. Truthful storytelling is also about authentic representation, about ensuring all Veteran voices and perspectives are heard and welcomed. So to our Muslim Veterans and colleagues, your unique perspectives make VA stronger. You make America stronger. We welcome your stories and your experiences. You belong here. You make all of us better people. It’s an honor to be with you in celebration today. Thank you for inviting me.