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"You have to be sensitive to improper influence," Carey said. "We have no interest as Christians to see the emergence of what some call `rice Christians'—people who pretend to become Christians, but really aren't. We know we need to respect the dignity and the freedom of the Iraqi people."

How Muslims perceive evangelicals is important, especially since Bush himself is an evangelical Christian with strong ties to Graham, who said a prayer at his inauguration, and to Southern Baptists, who have been loyal supporters, said Ingrid Mattson, assistant professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

"The impression all this gives to people, whether it's true or not, is that there may be a motive of the administration that they're not openly stating, that they want to change the underlying nature of the region, and part of that is to push Christianity," said Mattson, who is also vice president of the Islamic Society of North America.

She said the best thing the Bush administration could do to counteract that impression is to make sure Muslim relief organizations are working beside Christian ones in Iraq.

But Ellen Yount, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which helps coordinate and fund relief efforts, said given that the groups are "private charitable organizations and activities, we don't have any legal jurisdiction over them."

In other words, unless government money is involved, faith-based relief groups are free to proselytize, or not to proselytize, as they wish.

Copyright © 2003 Religion News Service

For more coverage on the current conflict, commentary and thought on just war, or Christian debate, see our CTWar in Iraq archive.

A downloadable Bible study on the implications of war with Iraq is available at CurrentIssuesBibleStudy.com. These unique Bible studies use articles from current issues of Christianity Today to prompt thought-provoking discussions in adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

Recent Christianity Today articles and commentary on the current war with Iraq include:

Evangelicals Plan to Minister to Iraqis' Needs—Physical and Spiritual | Evangelism efforts will join relief work, say Southern Baptist Convention and Samaritan's Purse. (March 27, 2003)

Speaking Out: Where Do We Go From Here? | Now that the bombs are falling, we'll need to repair Iraq—and our nation's moral standing. (March 21, 2003)

CT Classic: Weeping over Baghdad | Desert Storm cost Iraq thousands of lives. At its conclusion, a Christianity Today editorial called for the church to deal with the living souls that remained. (March 21, 2003)

Relief Agencies Prepare to Help Iraqi Refugees | Meanwhile Christians in Baghdad fear the worst. (March 26, 2003)

Keeping Their Heads Down | Vital but dwindling Christians face many pressures. (Nov. 8, 2002)

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47