There was a time when Crusade was the term for our occupation of Iraq by Bush, and that was quickly retreated from. Bush and the religious right that are trying to speed up the whole rapture deal, couldn’t take the chance of having the strong images of the previous Crusades associated with the current occupation, and they quickly found another way to proselytize to the Islamic people of Iraq.
Let’s jump back to current times, when, just a couple of weeks ago, the world learned one or more US troops were using the Quran for target practice.
A week ago in a police station shooting range on Baghdad’s western outskirts, the American-allied Iraqi militiaman found what one or more GIs had been using for target practice — a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.
Riddled with bullets, the rounds piercing deep into the thick volume, the pages were shredded. Turning the holy book in his hands, the man found two handwritten English words, scrawled in pen. “F*** yeah.”
Now, while that may or may not have been religiously motivated, it is a serious religious affront to Islamic people.
But defacing and destroying a religious book is not enough. Today we find that a marine has decided to wage his own Crusade to convert the Iraqi’s by handing out biblical coins at a check point.
A military spokesman said Iraqis in Falluja complained that the Marine was giving the coins, which were printed in Arabic, to people at an entry control point in Falluja.
U.S. military regulations prohibit religious proselytizing.
“This has our full attention,” said Col. James L. Welsh, chief of staff of Multi-National Force, West. “We deeply value our relationship with the local citizens and share their concerns over this serious incident.”
At least one of the coins is stamped with the words “Where will you spend eternity?” according to a report published Thursday by McClatchy Newspapers.
The other side of the coin reportedly contains a verse from John 3:16 that reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Several Falluja residents said they were given the coins over a two-day period and complained that U.S. troops, whom they consider foreign occupiers, were acting as Christian missionaries.
Which makes it all the harder for us to claim the war waged in Iraq is not a Crusade.
The religious people just cant seem to keep their religion to themselves! This is one of the major problems with christians they expect everyone else to convert and believe as they do that they are the servants of the jews!! I bow down to no religion and I dont believe the jews are the chosen people!! I find it insulting that this marine like most of the sheep christians are shoving their religion down the throats of people of the muslim religion!! Why dont they just keep it to themselves and leave others alone?? There is a reason our forefathers demanded a separation of church and state! Religions cannot be trusted and need to be watched at all times or they will murder more people in the name of their bible!!!
I dont see anything wrong with someone trying to let people know the truth. The people that were handed the coins dont have to accept them, and the “Christians” are not shovind their religion down anyone throat, like I said, you can take it or leave it… just like other religions that come to the door or even at the airports… if your interested, you will look more into it, if not, you go on your way….
Bah, here we have a group of people who complain about our country and any disrespect to their religion. They claim we’re restricting their religion. However in Islam run countries it’s illegal to possess a bible. I’m not a fan of pressuring your religion on anyone. So the people who force Islam on anyone in their country have no sympathy from me. Just as I have no sympathy for Christians who are insulted at the burning of bibles. As for Christians killing in the name of religion? Aren’t we hunting Muslims who are doing the same thing? It’s time for people to stop being so touchy. If there’s ever going to be peace in that region then the world of Islam is going to have to accept the fact that some people in this world don’t see the Quran as anything more than just another book. Granted I think the Christian world needs to come to terms with the same thoughts about the bible. But I give kudo’s to this soldier. Nobody was required to respect the coin… They couldn’t be jailed over discarding it. Don’t forget the term holy war was first shouted by Islam extremists. But if you’re going to get all huffy puffy over one person doing something it’s only just that you hold another to the same standard. Just as I have no sympathy for the Israeli’s for getting bombed. They started the whole suicide bomb fight when they decided they wanted to take over just after their relocation following ww2
I agree that there is nothing wrong with evangelizing, but this soldier was proselytizing, which I do have a problem with. The difference lies in the intent; evangelizing is merely spreading the news and allowing people to take from it what they will, whereas proselytizing is actively trying to convert people.
I also have a problem with the fact that he was doing it AS AN OCCUPYING SOLDIER. A guy on the street corner is one thing, but as a marine, this man was representing the United States; his action is the equivalent of air-dropping Bibles wrapped in American flags. This is the reason we have separation of church and state, and he cannot avoid violating that principle while he does this in a US military uniform. Nobody may have been required to respect the coins, but the fact that they were handed out by an agent of the United States rather than a private individual is what makes this wrong in the eyes of our government.
As a Christian myself, I am all for spreading the news of the gospel, but I do not believe that the Muslim religion is any less valid than my own, and therefore any way of spreading the gospel which devalues or offends the Muslim religion is also wrong; this includes proselytizing. An example of good evangelism would be living out kindness to the people in the name of one’s faith, or by having an open religious discussion in which neither side is assumed to possess more “truth” than the other.
People complain about how in some Muslim countries Christians aren’t allowed to carry a Bible, well, so it is in Isreal where the Muslim population are not recognized and their Muslim neighbours are terrorized morning and night.
Extremism, terrorism, idiocy, etc are not the exclusive purview of any religion. People are people, period!
As for the marine proselytizing in Iraq, clearly it’s against their mandate. I’ve heard someone write off the desecrating of the Qur’an as stress related. All I’ll say is actions have consequences. Racist comments are not tolerated yet people seem to think it’s okay to desecrate the holy symbols of other people’s faith in the name of freedom of expression or in this case, freedom to de-stress.
Dan Moe said, “The religious people just cant seem to keep their religion to themselves!”
I think that a religious person would have to be extremely selfish to do that, missing the point of the religion entirely, given the point of the major world religions such as Christianity.
This is why I do not see that much of a problem with the coins – they of course would be ill-received, but their function is to enlighten, not to satisfy.
Completely disrespecting a Holy book, however, I most certainly do not condone. Promoting a religion and shooting down – no pun intended – another are completely different things, in mindset and attitude if not in essence.