Muslim Soldier From Stafford Who Died In Iraq Joined After 9-11 Terrorist Attacks

Kareem Khan, a 2005 graduate of Southern Regional High School, joined the U.S. Army shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Army specialist earned a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and a Good Conduct medal.

He died at 20 in Iraq in 2007, when he was clearing a house with his team.

Kareem Khan was a Muslim.

And his mother Elsheba Khan is upset with remarks Republican presidential contender Ben Carson made on ”Meet the Press” last Sunday, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Carson said he would not advocate a Muslim serving as president of the United States.

“It hurts when people would degrade Muslims like that,” Kahn’s mother said. “(Kareem) always looked at things positively and it didn’t matter what anybody said. He always saw the good in people.”

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid fired back on his Facebook page that Carson’s comments ”denigrated” Kareem Kahn and all Muslim-Americans.

“Shame on him,” Reid wrote in the post. ”Shame on any person who spews such vile, hateful rhetoric. The nearly three million Muslim in this country are part of the fabric of America. They teach in our schools, fight in our military, and serve in Congress. Congressmen Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Andre Carson of Indiana – both Muslim – have represented their districts and states with distinction.”

To read the Press of Atlantic City story, click here.

Photo credit: Senator Harry F. Reid.