[R-G] 'Witness for Jesus' in Afghanistan

[Anthony Fenton]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/05/20095485025169646.html

Probe call in Afghan 'convert' row

Bagram air base has a thriving evangelical Christian community

A former Afghan prime minister has called for an inquiry after Al  
Jazeera broadcast footage showing Christian US soldiers appearing to  
be preparing to try and convert Muslims in Afghanistan.

Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai said there must be a "serious investigation" after  
military chaplains stationed in the US air base at Bagram were filmed  
discussing how to distribute copies of the Bible printed in the  
country's main Pashto and Dari languages.

In one recorded sermon, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of  
the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, tells soldiers that, as  
followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be  
witnesses for him".

"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same  
things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them  
down," he says.

"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom.  
That's what we do, that's our business."

Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the  
highest ranking officer in the US military, told Al Jazeera he was not  
aware of the details of the footage but that the US army was not  
involved in promoting religion.

"From the United States' military's perspective, it is not our  
position to push any specific kind of religion," he said at a Pentagon  
briefing in Washington on Monday.

'Very damaging'

Under the US military code of conduct, armed forces on active duty are  
prohibited from trying to convert a person's faith.

Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai told Al Jazeera from Kabul on Monday: "This is a  
complete deviation from what they [the US military] are supposed to be  
doing.

"I don't think even the US constitution would allow what they are  
doing ... it is completely against all regulations.

"This is very damaging for diplomatic relations between the two  
counties ... everyone knows people are very conservative here, very  
faithful to Islam. They will never accept any other religion.

"Someone who leaves Islam is sentenced very severely - the death  
penalty [is imposed].

"There must be a serious investigation now that it has come out into  
the public and [into the] press," he said.

Sayed Aalam Uddin Asser,  of the Islamic Front for Peace and  
Understanding in Kabul, told Al Jazeera: "It's a national security  
issue ... our constitution says nothing can take place in Afghanistan  
against Islam.

"If people come and propaganda other religions which have no followers  
in Afghanistan [then] it creates problems for the people, for peace,  
for stability.

Local language bibles

The footage, shot about a year ago by Brian Hughes, a documentary  
maker and former member of the US military who spent several days in  
Bagram near Kabul, was obtained by Al Jazeera's James Bays, who has  
covered Afghanistan extensively.

In other footage captured at Bagram, Sergeant Jon Watt, a soldier set  
to become a military chaplain, said during a Bible study class: "I  
also want to praise God because my church collected some money to get  
bibles for Afghanistan. They came and sent the money out."

It is not clear that the Bibles were distributed to Afghans, but  
Hughes said that none of the people he recorded in a series of sermons  
and Bible study classes appeared to able to speak Pashto or Dari.

Hughes said: "The only reason they would have these documents there  
was to distribute them to the Afghan people and I knew it was wrong,  
and I knew that filming it … documenting it would be important."

Guidelines

It is not clear if the presence of the bibles and practice of calling  
on soldiers to be "witnesses" for Jesus continues, but they were  
filmed a year ago despite regulations by the US military's Central  
Command that expressly forbid "proselytising of any religion, faith or  
practice".

It is not clear any of the local language Bibles were distributed to  
Afghans
But in another piece of footage, the chaplains appear to understand  
their actions were in breach of a regulation known as General Order  
Number One.

"Do we know what it means to proselytise?" Captain Emmit Furner, a  
military chaplain, says to the gathering.

"It is General Order Number One," an unidentified soldier replies.

But Watt says "you can't proselytise, but you can give gifts".

The footage also suggests US soldiers gave out bibles in Iraq.

In an address at Bagram, Watt is recorded as saying: "I bought a  
carpet and then I gave the guy a Bible after I conducted my business.

"... the expressions that I got from the people in Iraq [were] just  
phenomenal, they were hungry for the word."

Questioned about the footage, Greg Julian, a US colonel in Afghanistan  
told Al Jazeera: "Most of this is taken out of context ... this is  
irresponsible and inappropriate journalism.

"This footage was taken a year ago ... the bibles were taken into  
custody and not distributed.

"There is no effort to go out and proselytise to Afghans."

The footage has surfaced as Barack Obama, the US president, prepares  
to host Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, at a summit on Tuesday  
and Wednesday focusing on how to tackle al-Qaeda and Taliban bases  
dotted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.