British soldier who lost leg in Iraq shares powerful message to those who think he should be Islamophobic

A British Army soldier who lost his right leg in combat has gone viral on Facebook for a post attacking Islamophobia.

Chris Herbert, who served in the British Army in Basra, Iraq, lost the limb when a bomb went off next to his Land Rover in 2007.

One of his comrades and friends Private Luke Simpson, lost his life in the attack, and two other soldiers were injured.

Herbert, who was 19 at the time of the life-changing injury, took to Facebook to express his 'frustration' at people's expectations that he would be racist following the incident.

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In a post that has since been deleted, Herbert wrote:

Getting frustrated by some people expecting racism from me, because I got blown up. Here it is:
Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg.
A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Army 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 UK.
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.

Herbert, who lives in Portsmouth, then explained why Islamophobia operates on a flawed logic.

If you want to hate an entire race of men and women for the actions of a few d***heads feel free, but don't push your views on me, thinking I am an easy target because one d******** decided it was my day to die.
Blaming all Muslims for the actions of groups like Daeshe 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.

He finished the post by saying that those holding the entire Muslim faith responsible for terrorism to: "Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work."

The original Facebook post was shared nearly 125,000 times, reports CNN.

His message of love and compassion over hate and bigotry won praise and admiration across social media, with people leaving comments ranging from "You're a wonderful person," to "Amazing words".

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