WEBVTT 00:00.960 --> 00:06.780 My name is Terry Holbrooks. I was previously in the military and was a guard in Guantanamo Bay where I converted to Islam. 00:07.040 --> 00:12.940 Prior to joining the army, I'd usually hang out at a pool hall. There's a pool hall that I would sit and play pool at for the majority of the evening. 00:13.160 --> 00:15.080 That and drinking. I was drinking very heavily. 00:15.940 --> 00:20.340 I joined the military due to the fact that I wasn't really going anywhere with my life. I wasn't content. 00:20.760 --> 00:23.060 And I wanted to be more productive than my parents had been. 00:23.620 --> 00:26.280 Kind of bring some pride to the Holbrooks legacy. 00:27.420 --> 00:29.000 We flew to ground zero. 00:29.000 --> 00:31.680 So we could see ground zero that day. 00:32.100 --> 00:34.840 It was the last thing we saw of America before we left was ground zero. 00:35.020 --> 00:42.620 They really drilled this intense necessity of hate and anger towards these people. 00:43.200 --> 00:47.960 Who are these other 775 people? I can't imagine there being that many co-conspirators. 00:48.140 --> 00:49.460 It just seemed kind of ridiculous to me. 00:51.060 --> 00:54.560 And obviously, as time has shown, we've sent 550 of them home now. 00:54.780 --> 00:57.600 So they weren't guilty to begin with. 00:57.600 --> 00:59.220 They were always smiling. 00:59.880 --> 01:03.600 There must be something in your faith or in your life that's lacking in mine. 01:03.700 --> 01:06.880 Because I'm here, and I'm not smiling every day. 01:06.960 --> 01:09.340 But you are. That's amazing. 01:10.560 --> 01:12.000 What do you have that I don't? 01:13.280 --> 01:16.960 More often than not, the detainees, prayer itself, prayer call would be mocked. 01:16.960 --> 01:19.520 What they'd be saying during prayer would be mocked. 01:19.920 --> 01:20.800 The Army doesn't care. 01:21.600 --> 01:22.920 It's just not a matter of concern. 01:23.180 --> 01:28.440 We don't need to be culturally sensitive or culturally aware of these people. 01:28.760 --> 01:31.800 I don't think they ever thought that individuals were going to be talking with the detainees. 01:31.800 --> 01:33.800 Detainee 590, the general. 01:36.020 --> 01:39.000 He was kind of a celebrity, so to say. 01:39.460 --> 01:42.200 He would ask you questions that would probe thinking. 01:42.900 --> 01:44.820 It wasn't necessarily he was trying to argue with you. 01:44.900 --> 01:46.820 He would ask you questions that would make you think. 01:47.280 --> 01:48.660 He introduced me very much to Islam. 01:48.820 --> 01:51.860 He had a lot to do with my acceptance of Islam. 01:52.520 --> 01:57.120 I sent my shahada with him, and he congratulated me. 01:59.500 --> 02:02.340 I think it's very much possible to fully adopt to Islam, 02:02.680 --> 02:04.940 and to live an Islamic life, and to be a good Muslim, 02:05.420 --> 02:06.940 and at the same point in time, be an American. 02:07.300 --> 02:10.140 One of the things I've noticed since I conversed with every door that I close, 02:10.280 --> 02:11.600 Allah opens a better door. 02:12.460 --> 02:14.020 I found Islam in Guantanamo, 02:14.020 --> 02:18.220 and it's not something that I could ever find anywhere else.