Burak Karan – A German footballer turned martyr

German footballer Burak Karan as he portrayed himself in Syria.

The above is a picture of Burak Karan – a 26 year old German of Turkish descent who was killed near the Turkish border, a month ago after joining the rebels in Syria.

Well, it is not the only time we had talked about a potential star who had taken up arms to fight against tyranny. Last year, we had mentioned how an aspiring Syrian national team goal-keeper Abdul Baset Al-Sarout who dropped his gloves and picked up arms.

The most interesting bit of this story is the fact that Burak, was once considered a star in the making, had represented Germany at the U-16 and U-17 levels. Having played along with the likes of Sami Khedira and Kevin-Prince Boateng, he was expected to be somewhere in Bundesliga making the lives of forwards – a living hell.

Instead, at the age of 20 he decided to turn away from all that calls the human soul towards being materialistic and focus on Islam. His former coach at Hannover 96, Marcus Olm said Karan was deeply religious and used to pray five-times a day in accordance to the teachings of Islam.

“No matter if we were training or on an away trip, five times a day he retired and prayed towards Mecca,” Olm told Die Welt newspaper. “He was also a cheerful guy, one with who it was easy to have fun.”

His deep interest lay in helping his Muslim brothers and sisters who were suffering under the regime. Unfortunately, his foundation of helping his people, were grounded by radical islamists who basically try to prey on people with his mindset.

Mustafa Karan had denied his brother had gone to Syria not as a jihadi fighter but as an advocate carrying out charitable activities to help Syrian struggling in the two-year conflict.

“He was only armed to protect his vehicles,” his brother said.

The Muslim community obviously has to look out for these young minds, take them in and guide them to indeed better and more appropriate direction in their quest to do the right thing. Burak would have been better off and more helpful to the Muslim community, if he had continued playing football. But that is just an opinion.

He leaves behind his 23-year-old wife and two children aged three and ten, for heavenly abodes. May he Rest in Peace, inshallah.