Evangelical Proselytizing Continues in Afghanistan Under Obama Administration

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

May 4, 2009

The May 2009 Harper’s Magazine Cover Story:

Evangelical Proselytizing Still Rampant in U.S. Military

Under Obama Administration, Offending Officers Continue to Serve, Promoted

ALBUQUERQUE –

The May issue of Harper’s Magazine (www.harpers.org) reveals the continued practice of Christian evangelical proselytization in the American military and a lack of recourse within the Obama administration, according to a leading civil rights watchdog group prominently featured in the magazine’s cover story.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF: www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org) and its founder and president Mikey Weinstein were profiled by Jeff Sharlet in his piece for Harper’s Magazine, “Jesus Killed Mohammed: The Crusade for a Christian Military.” Mr. Weinstein is the nation's leading advocate for the protection of individual soldiers’ constitutional rights to religious freedom and a frequent critic of the U.S. military hierarchy’s blind eye to efforts to evolve the nation’s military into a modern day band of Christian crusaders.

“Every man and woman who joins our military swears an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and it is unforgiveable that many continue to dictate how, when and to whom a soldier can pray while in uniform,” said Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). “The Harper’s Magazine report by Jeff Sharlet exposes shocking new instances of bigotry and evangelical proselytization within our nation’s military that emboldens our enemies, endangers our soldiers on the battlefield and threatens the core of our country. Equally disturbing is Mr. Sharlet’s revelation that despite President Obama’s well-publicized efforts to show the Muslim world that this is not a war against Islam, numerous offending officers and military professionals responsible for these actions continue to serve in high-ranking and influential positions, and many of them stand to be promoted.”

In Mr. Sharlet’s piece, Mr. Weinstein shares his experiences with anti-Semitism as a “doolie” at the U.S. Air Force Academy; his advocacy and legal counsel on behalf of thousands of active duty soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen afflicted from religious persecution in the line of duty; and his continued call for reforms within the Pentagon to restore the U.S. military’s adherence to its constitutional responsibilities.

Additionally, Mr. Sharlet interviewed a number of current and retired military officers and professionals on their thoughts and experiences regarding the protection and evasions of religious liberties in the military. His report details a number of known and unknown instances of evangelical proselytization within the military, both domestically and in the war theater.

The following are examples of evangelical proselytizing practices detailed in the Harper’s Magazine cover story:

- An Easter Sunday raid on Iraqi insurgents in 2004. Special Forces Officers, inspired by a showing of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, wrote the words “Jesus Killed Mohammed” in Arabic on their Bradley Fighting Vehicle and shouted the saying in both English and Arabic to entice Muslim soldiers into the open before embarking on an attack to put down the insurgency.

- A meeting of an underground all-male, cadet-led prayer group at the U.S. Air Force Academy where members discuss, among other things, the deceptions necessary for missionary work in China. The author attended the group’s meeting under the promise that he would not publish the group’s name out of fear that: “Those who do believe in separation of church and state might interfere with its goal of turning the world’s most elite war college into its most holy one, a seminary with courses in carpet bombing.”

- Interviews with Lieutenant Colonel Bob Young in which he defends and shows no remorse for stating that it would be better for a black to be a slave in America and know Christ, than to be free and not know Christ.

- A speech given by Army Lieutenant Colonel Greg Metzgar before the Officers Christian Fellowship – a group with 15,000 active members at 80 percent of military bases – in which he stressed: “Christian soldiers must always consider themselves behind enemy lines, even within the ranks, because every unsaved member of the military is a potential agent of ‘spiritual terrorism.’”

- Excerpts from a book published in 2005 by Lieutenant Colonel William McCoy, Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel, which describes an “anti-Christian bias” in this country he seeks to counter by making the case for the “necessity of Christianity for a properly functioning military.” McCoy’s book was endorsed by General David Petraeus, who said: “Under Orders should be in every rucksack for those moments when soldiers need spiritual energy.” General Petraeus, while claiming his statement was not meant for the public, has never recanted his statement.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, www.militaryreligious freedom.org, is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment and the “no religious test” of Article VI.

Founded in 1850, Harper's Magazine, www.harpers.org, is the oldest general-interest monthly in America. In September, the Pew Foundation reported that Harper’s readers pay particularly close attention to national news and stand out for their political knowledge. The magazine explores the issues that drive the national conversation through such celebrated features as Readings, Annotation, Findings, and the iconic Harper’s Index. Harper's has been awarded eighteen National Magazine Awards. The magazine is owned and published by the Harper’s Magazine Foundation.

http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/harpers_newsstand.html

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Proselytizing in the Military Likely to Continue Under Obama

Written by Jason Leopold
Saturday, 27 December 2008

Barack Obama's decision to have the evangelical megachurch leader Rick Warren conduct the invocation at next month's presidential inauguration suggests that fundamentalist Christians still wield enormous power within the federal government and will likely continue to be a dominating force under an Obama administration.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the U.S. military where, for the past several years, in apparent violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, chaplains have openly proselytized to thousands of active-duty soldiers and, in some cases, have tried to convert Iraqis and Afghans to Christianity.

The U.S. Military is barred from enacting or supporting policies that advance, promote or endorse religion. Prayer sessions in the military “must have a secular purpose; the primary effect of the prayer must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and finally, the prayer must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion,” according to a 2003 U.S 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that struck down meal-time prayer at the Virginia Military Institute as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

But, now that Obama has decided to keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense—and he's embraced Warren—it is virtually guaranteed that fundamentalist Christianity will continue to permeate throughout the military just as it has during George W. Bush’s eight years in office.

Despite being named in several lawsuits filed against the Pentagon for allowing military chaplains to proselytize to soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the numerous letters he has received from civil rights organizations and government watchdog groups since he was tapped as Defense Secretary two years ago, letters demanding that he launch investigations into widespread proselytizing, Gates has failed to issue a response of any kind to these groups and has refused to take steps to address the matter. Meanwhile, soldiers continue to have fundamentalist Christianity shoved down their throats.

Of the nearly 11,000 soldiers that have lodged complaints about proselytizing with just one of the various government watchdog groups, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, reports that about 96 percent have identified themselves as Christian, however, there are numerous cases in which atheist and Jewish soldiers have said they were subjected to Christian prayer sessions and proselytizing by chaplains despite their objections.

One recent example of proselytizing began last June, when two Army chaplains and one Air Force chaplain led mandatory Christian prayer sessions and Bible study as part of daily shift change briefings in the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC), Iraq. The 3rd ESC works 12-hour shifts, meaning mandatory Christian worship and ritual, occurred at least twice a day.

A non-commissioned officer, who identified himself as an atheist, objected to the denominational prayers. He was told by one of the chaplains, Lt. Col. Chaplain Harrison, that he could be “excused” from the Christian prayer sessions and the chaplain advised the non-commissioned officer that his goal was to turn soldiers into “his congregation.”

http://www.pubrecord.org/religion/583-proselytizing-in-the-military-likely-to-continue-under-obama.html

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The Gospel is Being Taken To All Lands and All Nations

Thursday, June 28, 2007

As soldiers we are prohibited from proselyting (proselitizing). Conversion to Christianity, actually to any other religion, for a Muslim, is punishable by death. Hence the prohibition. However that doesn’t mean that the gospel isn’t being taught here in Afghanistan.

Last night at dinner I was told the following story. OK, before I actually begin the story, I need to give you some background details. The majority of the KBR workers who work in the chow hall, cut our hair, massage our backs, make our Blizzards, pour our coffee, are from the neighboring “stan” countries to the north; Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kjergistan, etc. They’re all part of the former Soviet Union. We do have civilian contractors here as well. One of the civilians is a member, he speaks Russian and has more interaction with the KBR workers. He’s the one who told me this story.

Last fall he came into contact with one of the massage therapists – it’s not what you’re thinking. As they were talking he mentioned that he had lived all over the world and that he spoke Russian. She asked him what had taken him to so many places. He said initially it was his LDS mission and then his work for the government. That lead to a discussion about the church. He described her as one of the most “golden” contacts he had ever met. He invited one of our soldiers from Utah to help him in answering her questions. Our soldier was concerned about being in violation of General Order 1 so took a back seat position but was available to answer questions. When he was home on leave at Christmas, he told his family about her and they felt inspired to purchase a Russian Book of Mormon and write their testimonies in it. He brought it back with him and gave it to Brother Zander to give to her.

Brother Zander initially gave her a video that briefly described the basic tenets of the gospel. When she came back after watching it, she wanted to know where she could get a copy of the Book of Mormon, who could she pay her tithing to, and when could she get baptized. He was able to give her our soldier’s Book of Mormon. Brother Zander had translated the families testimony into Russian. She began to read and Brother Zander and another began to teach her the discussions. Since she is not Afghani but Tajik there wasn’t the fear of converting that a Muslim would have. Brother Zander had previously called Church headquarters and received permission to teach her. Brother Zander said that she was soaking up the message that was being shared with her and wanted to be baptized. So it was arranged that she would be baptized at home. She asked Brother Zander to come to her town to perform the ordinance.

After she returned home she was again taught the discussions, this time by the Sister missionaries. She continued to show her excitement and enthusiasm for the gospel and quickly got through the discussions a second time. The date was set and Brother Zander made his way north.

At dinner he showed me pictures from his trip – he had just barely gotten back. She lives in a very beautiful part of her country but comes from a very poor family. She and three others of her family live in an unheated, no running water shack, barely big enough for four people. It looks like it could tip over with the slightest push. It’s part of her families farm. Her parents live in the main house and while it was bigger than the “shack” not by much. It’s no wonder that she has left her country to find work.

Brother Zander said that they had to go quite a ways out of town to the river where the ordinance was performed. I forgot to ask him if it was because of any negative backlash that would follow the baptism or if it was simply because there was no other place to perform the ordinance. In any event, she was baptized in the river. Just like in the early days of the church in the states.

She’s coming back to Afghanistan to work only this time she will be at the Airport where there’s more of an international coalition presence vs. a strong American presence. I hope she does well.

The gospel is being spread here in Afghanistan. While it’s not being preached directly to the Afghans, through our example and our interaction, they are feeling something of what we have. We as members of the Church are sharing our testimonies with our fellow soldiers as well as those we live and work with. Book of Mormons are being given away. And as is now evident, people are being baptized as a direct result of our presence here.

The Spirit of the Lord is being poured out upon this land!

http://jagman-tfphoenix.blogspot.com/2007/06/gospel-is-being-taken-to-all-lands-and.html

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