About Me

My name is Brother Mustafa Abdullah, but I was not always known by this, rather it was a name given to me by the detainees in Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay Cuba.  I was born Terry Holdbrooks in Phoenix Arizona, July 7th of 1983.  I lived in Arizona most of my childhood and young adult years, only briefly residing in Nevada for a short time.  I grew up with my biological parents until the age of seven, when they separated and moved on with their lives, and I moved to my grandparents.  I lived an average American boy’s life, school, video games, my bike, etc.  I came to understand quickly in school that I was not receiving an honest education; honest in respects to what has really happened in history, and what we teach our youth in America.  As a result I spent a good deal of time reading and studying on my own as a child and young adult, not playing sports or being Mr. Popular.  I wouldn’t say that I was a social outcast, but I was certainly different from those I went to school with, and always have (s/b have always had) had my opinions about the world around me. 

I was the type of student that would argue with teachers because they were wrong, or were not teaching us a proper perspective of history and education.  I thrived off the teachers that would argue with me, and encourage deeper studying and thought, they are the far and few (the few and far between).  I graduated early, and did not want to end up like my parents have, not that they were bad people, simply that I simply wanted more out of life.  After a brief stint in a trade school, I enlisted in the United States Army, to better myself, my family, and my country.  I didn’t know at the time that Allah has a plan for us all, and he is the best of planners, rather it was something I would come to discover in my time in service.  I say that I didn’t know at the time because I was not raised as a Muslim, I wasn’t raised as anything to be honest.  There was no strong presence of faith in my home, my parents were not entirely involved in it when I was young, and my grandparents left it up to me to find faith as a young adult.  I married shortly into my career in the Army, and then was told I was going to Guantanamo Bay.  I had not heard of GTMO yet, it was not in the news everyday at this point in time, and I did not think to look it up or research about it, I was more concerned about spending what time I had left with my wife before I had to go.  This ill prepared situation was a blessing in disguise, due to it leaving me with an open mind and perspective on what reality would be in GTMO. 

The Army fed me the propaganda they do, but anyone with half a brain could see through it and know better, I would hope.  I arrived in GTMO and was in a complete state of culture shock.  Languages I had never heard of or heard spoken, people from societies and cultures thousands of miles from my home, and a faith I had not seen practiced in my life.  Faith is what stood out the most to me, here is a group of people, over 700 strong, and they are devout to their faith, not like we are in the states, with our salad bar approach to the divine.  We take what we want from faith and leave what we don’t, and to see it practiced and accepted as it was written was a new experience to me all together.  My open mind served me well in GTMO, as it allowed for me to have an interest in learning the lives and cultures, the languages, and eventually, inshAllah, Islam.  What I saw in GTMO changed my life forever, and in the best of ways.  Now I too am a practicing Muslim, living here in America, and speaking out about an issue we as a nation have failed to address.  GTMO is a justification for Al Qaeda, The Taliban, Mujahedeen, and all the rest to exist, because we have sunk to their level.  Having left the military, and GTMO, I am now a writer, and a speaker, a member of the Muslim community, and still an American.  Some may choose to call me a “Traitor”, but my only rebuttal to that is “Have you yourself served for our country”?  I do not only speak out in regards to GTMO, but also Islamic awareness and necessity for community, and education as well.  We as brothers and sisters need to strengthen our community and relations with none Muslims across the nation, and we as Americans need to take a critical evaluation upon our educational system.  Upon a further inspection I am confident that we will all see matters that need to be reformed so that our future generations grow up to be smarter and more aware of the world they live in, and so that we can stop inheriting our fathers wars.

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