Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
US Marine Removed After Proselytizing Muslims In Fallujah
The AP reported yesterday that a Marine in Iraq was removed from duty after it was disclosed that he had passed out coins promoting Christianity to Sunni Muslims in the strongly religious city of Fallujah. One side of the coin read: "Where will you spend eternity?" The other side read: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16." The incident could heighten tensions over a proposed long-term security agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Zubaie criticized the Marine's actions, saying: "This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally. The Sunni population cannot accept and endure such a thing. I might not be able to control people's reactions if such incidents keep happening." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]