A British soldier whose leg was blown off by a bomb in Iraq in 2007 has become an overnight sensation after he slammed Islamophobia on Facebook, a post that instantly went viral.
Chris Herbert lost his right leg when a bomb went off next to his Land Rover in 2007 while serving in the British Army in Basra, Iraq, according to CNN. He was 19 then.
His comrade, Private Luke Simpson, died in the attack, while two other soldiers were injured.
In his Facebook post, Herbert wrote that he was "frustrated by some people expecting racism from me, because I got blown up."
"Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg," he wrote. "A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Uniform."
"A Muslim medic was in the helicopter that took me from the field.
"A Muslim surgeon performed the surgery that saved my life.
"A Muslim nurse was part of the team that helped me when I returned to the U.K.
"A Muslim healthcare assistant was part of the team that sorted out my day to day needs in rehabilitation when I was learning to walk.
"A Muslim taxi driver gave me a free ride the first time I went for a beer with my Dad after I came home.
"A Muslim doctor offered my Dad comfort and advice in a pub, when he didn't know how to deal with my medicines and side effects."
The post, made on Dec. 8, has been shared more than 162,000 times.
Herbert made the post after U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump proposed that the U.S. should bar entry to all Muslims.
This resulted in more than 400,000 people signing a petition to ban Trump from entering the United Kingdom.
The number is more than enough for a committee to consider sending it for parliamentary debate.
Trump said parts of London have been so radicalised that even British police are afraid to venture into those areas, a statement denied by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Herbert criticised Trump, saying, "He's a fool, first line of the U.S. Constitution declares (paraphrasing) that people cannot have rights taken away due to their religion. Even if he gets in, he has no legal right to do half the stuff he says."
Herbert, from Portsmouth, England, made the post after an "Islamophobic group tried to recruit him" as its poster boy.
He said "white Brits" discriminated against him upon his return to the U.K.
"A white Brit pushed my wheelchair away from a lift so he could use it first. A white Brit screamed at my Dad for parking in a disabled bay when I was in the services coming home. (Although, a lot of people helped in my recovery! I don't hate white Brits either! hahaha)," he wrote.
His point, he said, is "I know who I dislike, and I know who I don't. I know who I appreciate, and I know who I don't."
"If you want to hate an entire race of men and women for the actions of a few [expletive] feel free, but don't push your views on me, thinking I am an easy target because one [expletive] decided it was my day to die," he said.
He said, "Blaming all Muslims for the actions of groups like Daesh and the Taliban, is like blaming all Christians for the actions of the KKK or Westboro Baptist Church. Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work."
