Christian Evangelicals in Iraq: A Time-Bomb Waiting to Explode

Rene L. Gonzalez

01/25/04: (ICH) I've always had a big axe to grind with these Christian evangelicals. Ever since being accosted by one fervent follower in the hallways of a building at the University of Massachusetts and pressured to "recognize Jesus as my savior", I've had a very big distaste for their kind. These "know it all" pseudo-Christians make me sick, and I'll tell you why.

The British Telegraph newspaper recently featured an article on a supposed "war for souls" being waged by American Christian Evangelicals in Iraq. The article boiled my blood. My first reaction was, "How dare these religious nuts think they know better than Iraqis what their beliefs should be?" I thought the whole thing reflected a very ugly racism and paternalism about other people in the world and their traditions.

First of all, they're deceptive and dishonest about their agenda in Iraq. The following quote describes the nature of this deception.

-"Organising in secrecy, and emphasising their humanitarian aid work, Christian groups are pouring into the country, which is 97 per cent Muslim, bearing Arabic Bibles, videos and religious tracts designed to "save" Muslims from their "false" religion."-

The humanitarian aid work is the cover for the real agenda (which is converting Muslims to Christianity). The whole concept reveals a lot of racism, paternalism, arrogance, and ignorance. It is racist because it implicitly assumes that these Middle Eastern Arabs are not at the superior spiritual levels of whites (as measured by attaining Christian submission to Jesus Christ and his teachings). It is paternalistic in that the American missionaries, much like the Spanish missionaries that "civilized" the indigenous natives of the Americas, believe that the Iraqi "natives" need to be "saved" from their "false" religion. It is arrogant because the whole concept and agenda is conceived (and hoped to be implemented) within the context of colonial occupation and under a situation of powerlessness on the part of the "natives". I'd bet you these armchair, selective-concepts Christians wouldn't dare try to preach THEIR version of the Gospel if Iraq could refuse their entrance into their country, society, and culture. They do their preaching when the Iraqis, literally, are "on the ground" and unable to contain who steps on their soil. It is, finally, profoundly ignorant in that it ignores the very advanced nature of Iraqi culture, society, literature, and traditions, and it further ignores the fact that the Islamic religion respects the Bible as one of its own major religious texts, views Jesus as one of the great Muslim prophets, respect Christians as equal "Muslims" (the word means "those that submit", meaning all that submit to the God of Abraham are, by definition, "Muslims"), and essentially worship the same God as the Jews and Christians. As with everything with humanity, the differences in the religions are man made. Some don't view Jesus as a savior (Jews), some do (Christians), and some view him as one of the great prophets, but not necessarily THE main guy to worship (Muslims). Muslims are adamant that only God himself (no trinity, no Virgin Mary, not even Jesus) is to be glorified. but all worship the same God. But, you couldn't tell this to one of these fanatical pseudo-Christians. They are so stuck in their own, man-made religious concepts and divisions between the religions to see the inherent linkages between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the universal common concepts of respect, love, and brotherhood that are implicit to these, and most other major religions of the world.

Let's examine some of the ignorance

-"Southern Baptists have prayed for years that Iraq would somehow be opened to the gospel," his appeal began. That "open door" for Christians may soon close."-

Iraq "open" to the Gospel? Iraq's been open and practicing the "Gospel" and the other Muslim traditions for thousands of years! While Europe and America were still "heathen" landscapes, the Arab world was a developed, civilized world, with science, mathematics, and, yes, religion (which included Jewish and Christian perspectives of the holy books). What these American religious chauvinists really mean is Iraq being open to THEIR interpretation of the Gospel, complete with all the, frankly speaking, social-baggage bullshit that has been historically tied to American-style Protestant Christianity. In other words, Iraq should go through its own witch-trials, conservative-christian schools that prohibit interracial dating and homosexuality, and the rest of the reactionary (and patently discriminatory) Christian history that this country has undergone. Feels good being "saved", huh? 

I'm also disgusted by the implications of the second part of his comments. An "open door"? Are these people oblivious to the abusive nature of taking advantage of this "open door" (really a colonial occupation and powerlessness for the Iraqis) for their own religious-ideological agenda? What about what the Iraqis want? Has anyone really thought of them? Obviously, if 97% of Iraq is Muslim (indeed still the cultural capital of the religion), how dare we go in there to impose our cultural history on them? Nothing could be more racist, abusive, and imperial than to view the colonial occupation as an "open door" to "save" the Muslims from their "false" religion. I am profoundly sickened by these religious chauvinists!

The article continues to describe how many of the so-called Christian "humanitarian" groups making their way to Iraq are headed by individuals who have made public statements (bordering on racism, if not already there) against Islam. Is this smart? Should we fan the flames of religious and ethnic hatred in Iraq? Do we want to win hearts and minds and stave off a future rise of Muslim anger against perceived Christian crusades against the Islamic world, or do we want to promote such a "clash of civilizations"? For these Christian fundamentalists, that's the name of the game: crusading for "souls" in the Muslim heartland. And a few loony "Armaggedon" death wishers, hoping that an Arab conflict with Israel will release the ultimate destruction that will bring the second coming of "Christ", are quietly hoping for this clash to occur in the Middle East. To this radical wing belong Christian Zionists like Tom DeLay, Jerry Falwell, and more radical reactionary Christian fundamentalists. We, the normal people, should be VERY watchful of what these individuals and their powerful groups do. They ARE influencing our country's foreign policies.

What makes me the most angry is the attitude of the U.S. government. I am not surprised by their very "hands off, look-the-other-way" approach to Christian fundamentalist missionaries in the cultural capital of Islam, but I'm fearful for its consequences. I'm not surprised because they are a core political constituency of our own unelected and "born-again" Christian President George W. Bush. I'm fearful because I am sure that this will fan the flames of Muslim anger with the United States and with Christians overall. The consequences of that anger will be more 9-11s.

-"The US Agency for International Development has said that the government cannot rein in private charities. "Imagine what the US Congress would say to us," said a spokesman in April.-"

Bullshit! This government can and has prevented cultural, financial, religious, and political exchanges between countries before (Cuba's embargo comes to mind). And if the Cuban embargo has proven itself to have been a historical mistake, from financial, political, and cultural perspectives, a similar "embargo" on the part of the U.S. government against Christian missionaries taking advantage of the current colonial occupation in Iraq, would seem to be a very prudent foreign policy. First, we don't want to further alienate and worsen the already shaky occupation. Second, we don't want to hamper our legitimate efforts in lessening terrorism and protecting the U.S. territory by giving more fertile ground for Muslim anger against Christian "crusading for souls". The whole concept of Christian missionaries in Iraq goes against the logic of "winning hearts and minds", fighting terrorism (much of it a result of Muslim cultural anger"), and promoting a stable, peaceful, and democratic Middle East. The whole thing is totally illogical. The U.S. government's stance is totally irresponsible, disrespectful to the wishes and rights of the Iraqi people to their traditions and culture, and amounts to complicit approval of a policy of cultural genocide. Since the U.S. government, the internationally-recognized legal custodians of Iraq at the moment, are unwilling to rein in their own religious loonies, then the U.S. government must be held accountable for the cultural, racial, religious, and other conflicts that WILL arise when the civilizations clash. 

Cooperation, understanding, and learning from each other cultures is all fine and dandy, but not during the current context of very unequal power relations. It is not fair to the Iraqis for these Christians to abuse the current status of the U.S. armed forces as final arbiters of power in Iraq to, essentially, sneak into Iraq like cockroaches when they couldn't when a home-grown Iraqi government was in power. The following quote reflects this fear and thought-process on the part of Christian chauvinists in the U.S.

-"In Baghdad last month Mr Hanna met two other American missionary teams. One, from Indiana, had shipped in 1.3 million Christian tracts. "A US passport is all you need to get in, until the new Iraqi government takes over. What we thought was a two-year window, originally, has narrowed down to a six month window," said Mr Hanna, an evangelical minister and editor of Connection Magazine, a Christian newspaper in Ohio."-

It's not assumptions, it's reality. These Christian fundametalists are actively and intentionally taking advantage of the colonial usurpation of power by the American and Coalition forces to culturally and religiously invade the Iraqi society. That they consciously do so doesn't reflect a desire to deal with the Iraqis' religious, cultural, and intellectual perspectives on an equal level, but under conditions of inequality. Giving a hungry and destitute Iraqi food and other material resources and then giving them a Bible is not the ethically and morally good way to preach or convert people. It is taking advantage of their deprivations and using that physical and psychological dependence on Christian goodwill to advance the more important agenda: the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. It's not about learning and collaborating with the Iraqis on these social matters, it's about "teaching" and "civilizing" them with Christianity. As I said before, it's paternalistic, racist, arrogant, and ignorant.

Just one more ignorant comment, to drive the point home.

-"Mrs. Cone is confident she made converts in Baghdad. In her hotel she met a Muslim woman on crutches with a leg operation due that day. Mrs Cone knelt on the lobby floor and prayed that surgery would not be required. "I saw her that evening and she said God had healed her, and she hadn't needed the surgery. She didn't say Allah, she pointed to Heaven and gave God the glory," she said."-

What ignorance! God is Allah is Jehovah. Same entity! How chauvinistic! It wasn't about the woman, it's about the cultural and religious victory of Mrs. Cone, in converting the injured Iraqi to Christianity (or so she assumes). That about sums up the mission and priorities of Christian fundamentalists in Iraq. It's not about Iraqis or their human right to equality in all social matters (including religious choice). It's about winning victories, winning "souls" for the Christian fold. All this carnage and all this suffering just so that these religious nuts get a petty rush from having converted a Muslim to Christianity. How sickening.


It is not a morally right policy. It is racist, arrogant, ignorance, and paternalistic, and the U.S. government should not be collaborating or looking the other way to it. These are the things that later give credence to arguments of "chickens coming home to roost". Christian Evangelicals in Iraq are a time-bomb waiting to explode, and you might just be the person near it!


Rene L. Gonzalez Berrios M.A.
Political Science / Univ. of Massachusetts
Gonzalez is a Doctoral Candidate in Comparative Politics at the University of Massachusetts
He may be contacted by email at: renegonzalez7@hotmail.com 
SOURCES:

http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/27/wirq27.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/12/27/ixhome.html