Christian Missionaries Battle For Hearts and Minds in Iraq

[kskiska]

There's no sign on the rickety white storefront in central Baghdad, but for Iraqis who live nearby it is already a familiar landmark. Word spread quickly that those who enter the 1,500-square-foot expanse full of clothes and toiletries donated from overseas can expect to find bargains -- as well as answers to their questions about faith from the Christian staffers manning the counters.

"We want to be respectful to the local religion," said the Rev. Sekyu Chang, 45, of Light Global Mission Church in Vienna, who helped set up the charity thrift store. "There is nothing outwardly Christian about the shop, but most of the workers are Christian. They are going to share their personal faith when there are occasions."

With a population estimated to be more than 95 percent Muslim and outbreaks of violence in the name of Islam occurring on an almost daily basis, Iraq is not a place where Christian missionaries can openly evangelize on street corners, hold community prayer meetings or hand out stacks of Bibles. Many say they entered the country as businessmen or aid workers, roles that let them establish relationships with Iraqis about something other than religion.

Over the past year, Christian aid groups have played a significant, if unofficial, role in the reconstruction, helping with various projects: repairing water purification facilities, building a book-bag factory to create employment and holding classes to teach people English. And some have drawn criticism that they endanger the lives of secular aid workers and the military because insurgents may associate Christianity with Western domination, or because they disguise their intentions.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30001-20...

[opihimoimoi]

1. This is one of the troubling aspects to maximize the threat of a full blow

Holy War 1,000,000 x worse than today.

Those evangelists gonna fuck up the soup of Peace with their presence sure as shootin.

[Hekate]

2. Bush has been actively encouraging "faith based" groups...

...to go to Iraq, all along. We *know* the intent is for it to become active mission territory, and some of these naive and well-intentioned folks have already been killed.

I was distressed to see the reaction to such deaths at DU. Just because I personally think they have no business being there, and that the Bushite blind, stupid, arrogant policies are a nightmare for foreign relations, doesn't mean I think they should die.

But more of them inevitably will die, and then the fundy Christian community will hail them as martyrs for Christ and become all the more determined to (depending on their individual proclivities) wipe out the Muslims or convert them the old fashioned way -- by the sword.

Bush et al. have so much to answer for.

Hekate

[opihimoimoi]

7. I waz wondering if Christan Martyrs get 72 virgins like the Moslem guys do

[Hekate]

10. No sex in Christian heaven

Such a waste!

Hekate

[opihimoimoi]

13. Come, we go Hawaiian Heaven, we get plenty good times in the rack

[Hekate]

14. Heehee. All in good time, Aikane.

Hekate

[0007]

16. 144

[Citizen Daryl]

18. No, just a white robe and a tambourine. n/t

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. ...and hang-out in airports like the Hari Krishna once did??

[mitchtv]

3. two "missionaries" approached me here in Socal

Usually I'm polite, but since they were male( Iguess that's why) I felt no need to be polite. I said "Missionaries? keep moving" I can imagine how an Iraqi Muslim might feel. They don't belong there.

[Bigmack]

4. Bombed 'em, invaded 'em, ....

stripped 'em, sodomized 'em, ... why not missionize 'em.

The poor bastards haven't suffered enough!

[LittleApple81]

5. Amen! n/t

[progressivebydesign]

6. Ann Coulter's wet dream..

'kill 'em all and convert them to Christianity'.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. Boil in Oil?

[mumon]

9. dumb b*stards forgot Snowden's secret...

"Snowden's secret," is the denoument of Catch-22, and we recently observed it in the murder of Nick Berg.

From Catch-22:

Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrolably. He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fires to him and he'll burn, Bury him and he'll rot like other kinds of garbage The spirit't gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.


From the above article:

Politically, the work of missionaries has been difficult to explain, with insurgents trying to characterize the violence as part of a holy war between Muslims and foreign Christians and U.S. authorities asserting it has nothing to do with religion. Practically, the occupation has had to scramble to rescue missionaries who have been attacked.

IOW, these dumb bastards are distracting the US from its alleged mission in Iraq. If there is any mission at all, it's to stabilize the government. Everytime some dumb bastard "missionary" gets in trouble with the locals, we gotta use forces & effort to save the people who are trying to "save" the people.

Now, me, I suspect that's some kind of offense probably- they're really interfering in a military operation. (Should I argue they're giving aid and comfort to al Qaeda, as some have said about the US media showing Lyndie England pointing at Iraqi genitalia???)


But frankly, we've got to remember Snowden's secret. Jesus isn't going to "come" any quicker, but these folks might just find out how totally fragile and tenuous life on this little planet really is, which to me is what gives live this meaning.

[Columbia]

11. Many Muslims in Iraq treat Christians as brothers under Abraham

[cap]

12. there were many catholics in Iraq

until sanctions and the war drove them out.

[alcuno]

19. There was a US pilot on the other night who said when he was captured

they were trying to find out who was a Jew or a Catholic; Jews because of Israel and Catholics because of the Crusades. We cannot even begin to comprehend the memories of Arabs.

[Kadie]

15. Abuse photos spur Christian peace teams' return to Iraq

Abuse photos spur Christian peace teams' return to Iraq
Activists say they're willing to die for cause

Colin Freeman, Chronicle Foreign Service
Sunday, May 16, 2004



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Baghdad -- On the face of it, members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, which have spent the past year investigating allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by occupation forces, would seem to have little in common with members of the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Yet as widespread insurgency, lawlessness and kidnappings make Iraq increasingly dangerous, there is one belief the peace teams share with those in uniform -- that it's right to risk death for your cause.

"Unless Christians are as willing to die for peace as soldiers are willing to die for war, we had better basically shut up about being peace activists," said team member Stewart Vriesinga.

The U.S.-Canadian teams published their own portrait of abuse as long ago as January in a report detailing 72 cases in which Iraqis had allegedly suffered wrongful arrest or mistreatment in prison, said team member Cliff Kindy.


more... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/0...

[goforit]

17. LOL!!!........Way to step forward to the front line!!!....Good timing!!!

Just Go for it!!!