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Book Review: For God and Country by James Yee (2 of 5)
Yee is a third-generation Chinese American whose parents' families both ran laundries. Perhaps because of this he grew up a serious man who was not afraid of hard work. Influenced by the urging of a high school wrestling coach, Yee enrolled in West Point. It was a difficult experience, but one that taught him to persevere. He looked forward to serving his country in the military.
It was after graduating from West Point that Yee, who had been raised as a non-devout Lutheran, converted to Islam. He describes his conversion as an uninvolved process—a friend introduced him to Islam, and after briefly studying the religion and befriending some Muslims he met in the army, Yee converted, choosing the name Yusuf. When stationed in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, Yee traveled to Mecca and this became a major turning point in his life. Interestingly, although Yee doesn't say much about his identity as a Chinese American, he does tell of being deeply moved by the incredible racial diversity of the pilgrims to Mecca. He mentions being surprised and pleased to see a large group of Asians on a pilgrimage as well.
Yee spent four years in Damascus, Syria in intensive study of Islam and Arabic. There he met and married Huda, a Palestinian woman whose family had fled to Syria. Soon, Yee was offered a position in the U.S. Army as one of its first Muslim chaplains, and he and Huda moved to Seattle so he could begin his position at Fort Lewis.
Although he experienced some animosity from Christian chaplains (who thought Yee was going to hell), Yee loved his job which melded together his two devotions: the military and Islam. After 9/11, when anti-Muslim sentiment ran high, Yee took much satisfaction in providing religious education and sensitivity training for the military personnel and the other chaplains. Yee states he felt strongly about promoting “the free exercise of religion, a First Amendment constitutional right and an important, though sometimes neglected army value.”
