By Brian Brown
Rock Center
Put simply, this is just another striving, improbable, poetic American Dream story: How a family, venerating work and education, traveled from the notorious South Central LA of “Boyz In The Hood” to settle in Spielberg Americana in the shadow of the soaring San Bernardino Mountains—a family with not one but two brothers recruited to play Division I football at Washington State University, followed even more notably by NFL careers.
But this story has taken many more remarkable turns. Tonight on Rock Center with Brian Williams (10p ET), in a remarkable journey from Southern California to Saudi Arabia, correspondent Mary Carillo tells the story of Husain and Hamza Abdullah, who, at their athletic peak … associated with America’s most glamorous, most popular sport … walked away, for the glory of God.
“We’ve been playing football since we were 8 years old,” Husain Abdullah told Carillo, “from Pop Warner to high school, and to college, and into the NFL. And although we're knocking down all these barriers, doing things that people said you can't do, all of a sudden, it was like there's more to life than this. There's more. And we had to go for it.”
Their motivation arrived over a lifetime, and all at once. This past spring, Husain and Hamza felt an urgent need to more fully address the pillars of their Islamic faith, including the most difficult test of all, the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, an annual concentration of humanity unequaled on the planet.
In so doing, 27-year-old Husain (who had become a starter with the Minnesota Vikings), and 29-year-old Hamza (an established seven-year veteran last with the Arizona Cardinals) would sacrifice annual paychecks in the range of a million dollars. Instead, cognizant of their platforms as NFL players, they decided not only to seek greater spiritual fulfillment, but also to nurture a greater tolerance of their Islamic faith by spreading a greater understanding of its truths.
“In Islam,” Hamza Abdullah said, “the first word revealed was ikra, which means read or recite. So it's incumbent on all Muslims to gain knowledge. And, you know, if someone comes and asks me a question, ‘Hamsa, what's the five pillars of faith in Islam,’ I should be able to tell you: Shahada, the declaration of faith: Salat, the five prayers a day; Zakat, giving alms to the poor; Ramadan, fasting during the month of Ramadan; and then finally the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.”
Like many American Muslims, the Abdullah brothers have been falsely associated with versions of Islamic extremism they don’t recognize.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Hamza was a sophomore at Washington State, where he was an electrifying presence on the team’s defense. He received a call at 6 a.m. from a teammate telling him to turn on the TV and watch the breaking news about the attack on the World Trade Center towers. Not long after that day, both brothers would find themselves equated with the 9-11 hijackers—men with a distorted view of Islam and a deep hatred of America … men with whom the brothers had nothing in common.
WATCH VIDEO: Two Muslim brothers, one all-American success story
“I think 9/11 was an educational opportunity,” Hamza says. “It sounds crazy to say that. But it opened eyes for a lot of people, including myself. And people would ask me about Islam. They’d ask: ‘Can you guys kill people?’ And I would ask them: ‘In what book does it say that you can go and do acts of terrorism?’ The Quran doesn’t say that. Islam is a religion of peace.”
This past year, accustomed to thorough preparation and high performance, the brothers have been machine-like in their faithfulness. Along with their older brother Abbas, they spent the holy month of Ramadan on a multistate, cross-country tour: reaching 30 mosques in 30 days, but also stopping at food kitchens and holding teaching sessions with youth groups.
The climax of this year surrendered to the glory of God was the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudia Arabia, known as the Hajj. There, the brothers joined a multitude of millions.
“The first thing we noticed in Mecca was how much the other Muslims we met love Americans," said Hamsa. "They absolutely adore us. When you say, ‘America,’ they love you. And you really felt proud, like a sense of: ‘That’s my nation. That's my country.’ And, you know, a lot of the times that kind of gets lost in translation: that Islam is our religion, yes. But our country is the United States of America.”
WATCH VIDEO: NFL players take leave, make journey to Mecca
Will Hamza and Husain Abdullah, with the quiet force of their personalities and the depth of their integrity, be welcomed back into the NFL?
“We’d love to have Husain back,” said Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier. “A lot of things have to fall in place. But the door is not closed.”
“Time and time again, Hamza’s going to be the guy that’s going to encourage you,” said Cardinals veteran All-Pro safety Adrian Wilson. “He’s always said that football isn’t about him. It’s about playing for your brother. It’s about playing for the guy that’s beside you.”
Hamza offered these thoughts after his return from Mecca:
“You know, we're playing football, America's number one game. We went on a road trip. What's more American than a road trip?”
But this was hardly any ordinary road trip, as the Rock Center team would learn in this story about a remarkable leap of faith.
Leave a Comment:
We're all supposed to be sympathetic and understanding to the Islam faith but, in the meantime, let's bash Christians. What a bunch of hypoctites. We're supposed to tip-toe around anyone Muslim but can kick and beat a Christian. You won't find any celebrity or politician that will make a bad remark about Islam but they make fun of and joke about Christians. I'm so glad that my heavenly father is so forgiving - I'm having a hard time of it.
Intolerance of intolerance is not intolerance.
Organized religion is fantasy and fear run amok!
Way to go my brothers. There is more to life than riches.
Having played pro football, it seems they already have "riches".
Basalam.
WHO GIVES A FLYING S H I T ! ! !
Islam is no more a violent religion than Christianity or any other. The truth is neither endorses violence in the 21 Century. For those that think Christianity is the pillar of peace, you need to study history; you need to look at the actions of the U.S. which many consider to be a Christian nation. As Gandhi put it: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." That says it in a nutshell.
yeah he's in hell now.
Hell? Wheres that?
I see people saying Islam is violent. The roots of Islam are violent. No. The crazies are violent. And the roots of Christians are violent. You need a lesson in history 101 if you don't know that the Catholic church killed millions of peoples throughout the centuries. They killed Muslims, Jews. All non-believers. Most people with half a brain would recognize that NO religion has killed more people than Christianity. That's just a fact. This isn't to condone to crazies of Islam. They are scum. And clearly the radical Islamists of the world are drastically more crazy and dangerous than any Christian I know of today. I say this only to the people on this thread that portray the religion of Islam as all crazy and Christians (and their church) as so very pure. Neither is true. I loathe most churches and religious leadership. The morals of religion are great. That's about it. The rules, the church, the leaders, the crazies. The world would be a better place without all of that.
You are so right. watch The Season of The Witch . The beginning is not far from the thuth. The Christians were crazy but you have crazies in Islam too.
It's way too late.
My go to on religion has always been George Carlin.
That works for me too.
All of you Islam defenders really need to pay attention. The only time Islam makes the news is when someone of the Islamic faith has murdered, tortured, threatened, mutilated or hated someone. How can anyone have any other opinion except that Islam is a violent religion bent on destroying anyone who does not convert. To embrace it as the media and the wealthy athletes and movie stars have done is sheer lunacy.
You can't walk down the streets of America without the possibility of being murdered, tortured, threatened, mutilated or hated by someone. Whats Islam got to do with it?
Morons
Great story! The glory of God is recognized in all faiths. As a Christian I recognize and accept that. Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah. That's what makes us Christians. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet. They follow teachings of Jesus and Muhammad. If you are truly a Christian then you should know to love and be tolerant of people of all faiths.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE .
WHO GIVES A FLYING S H I T ! ! !
Charlie, your life as a troll will be short lived. You could be a trite more nuanced in your tone, grammar and use of capital letters and probably stay under the NV monitor's radar for a few more days. I guess you're one of those jackasses who likes to burn bright and crash quickly into the bug zapper of literacy and intelligence.
I stand beside you my brother. It is obvious how ignorant people are to American history. I am a former employee of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation. We are one of the largest Native American organizations in the Northwest U.S. Check out the website if you are not familiar. www.unitedindians.org. or .com. You are pissin' in the wind if you think you can get these people to understand whats in front of them. I am of mixed heritage. I ran the homeless program for Native American youth. I learned so much that wasn't taught in school. Aho!
Very, very sad. Being a Cult member is bad business. Yes, Catholics, Mormans, Islam, etc....False teachers. Beware.
All the wierd stuff in football and other "pro" sports has caused me to lose interest in same long ago, so I could really care less anyway. People need to seriously realize that we are in the end- times according to God's Word.
Wow, pot meet kettle. Your loss of interest didn't keep you from impugning the motives of people you know nothing about.
Anyone trotting out the end-times drivel makes my kook-meter spin like a ceiling fan.
Very dumb brothers! I'm sure they will be living on government assistance in no time.
They seem a lot more intelligent, motivated and spiritually grounded than you, JerseyJoe. They have no need to join you at the public trough. Why not reserve your armchair philosophy and prognostication for the squirrels and racoons in your backyard. That is your very, very best chance for an attentive audience.
OK, Chief Dumbo, you are so wise. Your probably on government assistance yourself.
Shame on all of those painting an entire Religion, as well as these young men, with the 9/11 brush. While managing a hotel in Pullman, WA, where WSU is located, I had the honor of meeting Husain. I found him to be a very conscientious, congenial young man, as different from the radical ideologues as is possible.
Yet further evidence of the paucity of PhD's in the NFL.
Have you any concept of how bad an idea it is to favor belief over knowledge?
Believers make snake oil salespeople rich.
Beliefs function as upper and lower control limits beyond which the believer is not willing to think, knowledge however, constantly expands without these constraints. So why do believers reject new knowledge intake? Probably because it is easier than self education. If thinking is work then we all need to get to work.
I, for one, am powered by questions and skeptical of those who profess to have answers........... or snake oil.
Education, intelligence, truth, facts, and objective thought - to say nothing of tolerance - have never been tenets of religion; Islam in particular today.
We in the US have the 'religious right' to worry about, poisoning an entire generation of children with lies and backwards ideas.
Religion can be preached to all men and women. Whether they understand the full ramifications of following that religion is their choice. I have had many good muslim friends, as well as Jews, and Christians. We have all sat around and discussed many things of this world and never raised our voices to each other. We did not always agree, but we always helped one another when in need. Mankind is responsible for his actions, not the religion that person purports to be a part of or represents. Respect for one another is the cornerstone of building the trust of working together. I am a Chrisitian and I am a believer in Jesus Christ as our Savior. There are many christians that do not believe this, but use the cloak of christianity to hide their views. The same is true in other religions, there are many followers, but few believers in the faith. We all should be working to love one another, not fight over oil, land, or the so called religion. Unfortunately, too many don't abide by this.
@ John J. Wilson-2297031
I am not Christian (or a member of any organized religion) - yet your post is 100% correct. Everyone is a human - no matter their personal beliefs. We all live on the same planet and fighting with those we don't know or don't understand their culture will be the downfall of everyone - there is no winner in blind hate.
These two men are doing good and I am really happy for them. Unfortuantely, after 9-11, I have become very guarded against Muslims and I know that's MY BAD. I wish I could shake it but I just can't. Hopefully one of these days I can "let it go".
Check them for suicide vest when they enter stadiums..
MUCH more important things than money folks... true you have to have $ to eat and have shelter but how much $ is ENOUGH? I know people that chase it every waking moment, sure they have material comforts but they are poverty stricken in matters of the heart and soul. They measure their value by the $$$ in their pockets and their bank accounts. Very sad indeed. For them.
11987j20, Gary, et al:
Its funny, if any of you hypocritical, gun-totin' 'christian sheep' have ever REALLY read the bible instead of just listening to any old fool on a pulpit, you will realize there is violence throughout nearly all (again, NEARLY) religions toward those of opposing faiths. The Christian bible is built out of books a MAN (king) selectively chose to include-books written by MEN (sounds like a bit of an 'out-of-context' issue there). God-inspired? maybe, depending on your level of faith. Christians are told THROUGHOUT the bible to kill (Read the book of Joshua). whole armies, and those of another faith were slaughtered. And I'm christian. These two did what most pro athletes couldn't (RIP Tillman), albeit after cashing in a bit, so they lost me there. Tolerance of others with opposing beliefs is human. Be one.
Until Muslims stand up against the radicals, instead of defending them, they are all guilty of supporting terrorism and killing innocent people.
How some of you defend these pieces of crap is beyond belief!
What do you think the protester in Tahir Square are doing?
Two more morons that didn't get a college education,probably majored in watering the football field and minored in social education!Well at least we now have 2 known muslims to put on the don't allow back here list!
Religion is a relic developed during a dark and ignorant time of humanity. It is mankind's way of coping with the fact that we will never have the answers to everything and more of an infantile coping mechanism than anything else. It is yesterdays form of therapy. One day the world will look back at religion in disgust and embarrassment the way we view the dark ages now. Of course, there will always be people out there who are afraid of sailing off the edge of the planet or whatever. There is about as much knowledge in "holy" books as there is in a cheap can of domestic beer.
Good for them if they can find some saner form of self worth against the backdrop of racism, but hopefully they aren't suckered into giving all their money to the church or into making videos calling the NFL filth.
long ago, 10 yrs or so, i worked with a few muslims. they are some of the most wonderful people i have ever had the fortune of meeting. it was especially grand to meet them after 9/11, to find out they were horrified at what had happened on that date. they are the most peaceful of people. it is about family and love. lol i had to laugh...they would not teach me to cuss in their language...women do not cuss! i learned many other words and phrases, but not "fun" ones. these brothers exemplify the best of their religion. they are not only talking the talk but walking the walk. that is awesome. how many of the rest of us can say that? i am not sure i couldve given up what they did, but in reading their words, looking at their faces in the picture, you can see the peace in their lives. good for them!
Ask them to spread the word that Bin Laden was a piece of crap and you will see how "good" they are.
They sympathize and believe in what the terrorist are trying to achieve even if they are not terrorist themselves.
lvingbarefoot - I believe that stormborn ACTUALLY MET the people of whom she spoke.
You DID not meet them - what gives you the right to think that they are anything other than what stormborn said about them?
You randomly hate people you do not know - you accuse them of being "terrorists." It seems to me that you are the terrorist in this situation - you have no psychic powers so you cannot judge ANYONE whom you do not personally know, yet you think you can judge from afar storm's friends?
That is like putting yourself up as a "God" status....which God could you be, is there a god for intolerance and ignorance?
Kettle. please list the Muslims that condemn the terrorist.
You can't and that is my point.
Thank you, Black! i did meet them and worked alongside them for years. They are peaceful. It is the radicals that cause the issues, as it is the radicals of any religion, or any organization. most are NOT radicals. most want the peace we all want. most live the peace that we all want. No, they were not for bin laden, hated his name, hated him, for what he had done. they were embarrassed by him, ashamed of him. that is not their way. as you shouldve seen, Lvingbarefoot, they were horrified at one happened to the US on 9/11. i am so very glad that i had the opportunity to spend as much time with them as i did. i learned early on to not judge another until i had the facts, and meeting them just backed that up. do not judge unless you know them. dear bob, i have met brown-eyed people who did me wrong...should i hate all brown-eyed people? i have met blondes who were rotten to the core...again, should i hate all blondes? dont you see? you cannot blame the whole for what one does. you just cant. each person should be judged on their own actions...not the actions of a whole. we could hate all germans because of hitler. but, all are not hitler, not by a long shot. again, judge each person individually, as you know them, do not judge the whole...you are missing out on so much.
your the reason why the whole country is going down the toilet.
thank you for your time
who? me? because i give everyone a chance? then you are in the toilet with me, sir. the only thing i do not do is hate every religion, nationality, etc, based on the actions of a few. on the other hand, i take pride in that i was a drill instructor in the army, that i know how to fight, am more than happy to, if need be. i will stand and defend my children, our country, and those that are weaker. i have defeated cancer...twice. i have been a single mother who raised her children to do the right thing...one son went to iran, the other afghanistan, after her husband left when the word cancer was mentioned. i am not afraid of battle nor of speaking my mind. i am afraid of narrow-mindedness and bigotry, quite honestly i am tired of it. at this in particular moment in my life i live for peace. i am tired of stress, of battles...i have fought many and won most. i have learned to pick the battles worth fighting for. you, mr warden, are worth no more than this paragraph. if you are going to tell me that i am the reason the whole country is going down the toilet, you could at least get it correct...the word you want is "you're, as in you are". have a nice day.
lvingbarefoot -
here: http://www.islamicity.com/articles/articles.asp?ref=am0109-335
I am only posting that link because the LIST OF MUSLIMS CONDEMNING THE ATTACKS IS VERY LONG!
In Muslim countries:
What did some "Christians" say, because I know that a few do not represent the whole?
Anyone can find Muslim sympathy for the 9/11 attacks - you just "chose" to believe they didn't mean it... if they didn't mean it, they would have stated that...some did state that the US was now feeling what the US does by secretly bombing other countries, but not the majority!
Better Luck next time lvin?
Don't complain to me when a US drone wakes you up....
Hey - stormborn - I'm sending a you a friend request (cancer too) and that I cannot judge people I do not know. We may not agree on EVERYTHING but as tolerate people I know we can "agree to disagree" - with some laughter as well. Don't worry, I'm not a guy hitting on you - I'm a female (people get confused with the handle name).
Black, i would love it! most people do not particularily care for outspoken females lol so, i have very few friends. the few i have are awesome! but...how do you send a friend request?
I sent you one - but if you click on my handle "Black Kettle..." it will take you to my page - on the upper right hand side you can click "send friend request." I sent one to you, so if you click on your own name and look in the same spot (little square in upper right), it will say you have a friend request "pending." You click on that to see who wants to be your friend, and you will see my dog and "Black Kettle..." you can accept or deny anyone!
Actually, I could have explained that better - if you click on your name, you will be take to your "page." Look at the green line at the top, you will see "History, Friends, etc." Click on "Friends" and then you can accept or deny my invitation :) ... what is nice about it is, when you are in a discussion, your "friends" are in blue, you can also tell from your original page if they are online. Have a great day!