Michigan Christian group supports Marine who tried to convert Muslims

Christian Freedom International, an obscure organization based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is defending a U.S. Marine removed from duty for trying to convert Iraqi Muslims in Fallujah to Christianity while on duty.

The problem began late last month when an American newspaper reported on complaints from Iraqi Muslims that American soldiers were handing out coins intended to convert them to Christianity at a military checkpoint in Fallujah. The coins had text in Arabic on them. On one side the text said, “Where will you spend eternity?” On the other side, “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. John 3:16.”

The paper reported that residents of the city were “abuzz” with talk of this attempt to convert them. Local Sunni leaders were outraged and demanded an end to the practice, saying that any attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity would “cause strife between the Iraqis and especially between Muslim and Christians.” Sunnis in the region argued that having an occupying force trying to convert them was “humiliating.”

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The Pentagon launched an investigation immediately, ordering local commanders on the ground to find out who was doing this and put a stop to it. Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll issued a statement saying that “the military prohibits proselytizing any religion, faith or practices.” A few days later it was announced that a single Marine had been removed from duty for having handed out the coins. Christian Freedom International then came to the defense of this soldier, saying:

CFI, whose mission is to provide humanitarian aid and advocacy for persecuted Christians in countries such as China and Bangladesh, has condemned the military’s disciplinary measures, asserting that the United States has an obligation to defend the soldier’s personal right to share his faith without fear of persecution. In a June 4th letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, CFI President Jim Jacobson also argued that “the incident in Fallujah did not involve harassment or coercion of any kind by the soldier, did not seek to disrespect Islam as a religion, did not cause harm to anyone who received the coins, and certainly did not warrant the harsh punishment carried out against him by his own government as a result of his actions.”

This is a very sensitive subject for the Pentagon, which has been very careful to avoid any hint of a religious crusade from the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Military leaders know that the situation in Iraq is volatile enough due to the various divisions between Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish religions in that nation, plus the divisions between ethnic Arabs and ethnic Persians. Adding even more fuel to that religious powderkeg is something military leaders know must be avoided at all costs.

In 2000, Gen. Tommy Franks, then commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command (which oversees all American military operations in the Middle East), issued a directive called General Order 1A. This directive recognized that because of interaction between American soldiers and local residents of a different religion it was important to “restrict certain activities which are generally permissible in western societies.”

Declaring that such restrictions were “essential to preserving U.S. / host nation relations and combined operations of U.S. and friendly forces,” the order forbids American soldiers from: entering a mosque without specific authorization from his superiors and the host country; using alcohol in either Iraq or Kuwait and following all local laws on the matter elsewhere in the Middle East; possession of pornography; gambling of any kind; and “Proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice.”

In part two, we’ll look at just how deep the problem of military proselytizing may go.