Thread by @MsMelChen

He did it. My co-founder and friend @faisalalmutar has now taken his place in American history as a steward of the American promise.

By now, you probably know his story, the story of how a boy born in Babylon and raised in Baghdad, who grew up under the tyrant Saddam Hussein,

and endured constant political turmoil, sectarian strife and violent extremism, escaped after being targeted by Al Qaeda himself and sought refuge upon these shores.

Once here, he continued to work against extremism and the many other ideological enemies of liberty that wrecked his homeland and other places like it.

Believe me, you won't hear enough of @IdeasB2 in the months and years to come.

The path to naturalization is a long and arduous one, and for good reason.

It comes with responsibilities, taking years, hard work and patience to get to the promised land of citizenship.

Naturalization ceremonies are incredibly moving. You can feel the electricity of faith and hope in the American Dream in the air, an ethos that new immigrants tend to buy into more fervently than the average birthright citizen.

That day, I saw each individual take a stand to represent the country that he/she came from, right before the standing sea of faces took the Oath of Allegiance for the first time in unison, an oath that binds and honors the shared civil project of America.

It was a physical manifestation on that inscription on our greenback:

e pluribus unum.

America has always been a nation united not by ethnicity or ideology, but by the principles of opportunity, equality and liberty.

These were the same ideals that, generations ago, drew your grandparents to this country. An idea. Freedom. A safe haven. The American Dream.

Congratulations on becoming a US citizen, and welcome home @faisalalmutar!