Chaplains following U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf face not only the rigors of life on the combat line, but the unusual requirements of life in a Muslim land. Approximately 200 chaplains have been stationed with the more than 100,000 soldiers in Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the only state-recognized religion in the country.
According to Saudi law, Christians who use wine for Communion or Jews who say a Sabbath prayer over wine are violating prohibitions on alcoholic drinks. U.S. Air Force chaplains in cities where American troops are stationed at airports among Arab civilians and soldiers do not wear their insignia—a cross or a star of David. Some unit commanders have issued orders eliminating the display of large crosses or other religious symbols outside tents or hotel meeting rooms used as chapels.
Normally, Christian clergy would not be allowed to conduct religious services in Saudi Arabia. But under the current conditions, chaplains will be allowed to work among the U.S. troops. “As long as chaplains exercise tact and diplomacy,” said Cliff Weathers, coordinator of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, “being in an Islamic country shouldn’t interfere with their duties.”
Nevertheless, American military personnel are cautioned not to carry out missionary activities such as distributing Bibles or other religious literature among Saudis or others. “We were not invited there to change the Muslim way of worship,” noted Col. Thomas Heather, command chaplain of the Tactical Air Command in Virginia. “It is important to understand that our job is not a missionary one. As long as people understand that, things seem to work pretty well.”
The Persian Gulf crisis demonstrates the role of the 3,600 active-duty chaplains in the army, navy, air force, and marines. A chaplain’s role is “essentially the same as a civilian pastor, priest, or rabbi,” said Col. Meredith Standley, executive director of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, with the notable difference that his or her congregation is a military unit with denominational diversity not usually found in a local parish. The majority of U.S. chaplains are Protestants (of the army’s 1,580 chaplains, for example, 1,367 are Protestant, 195 Catholic, and 18 Jewish). But they are “absolutely required to minister to people from all faith groups,” said Arne Jessen, executive director of the College of Chaplains, an interfaith certifying organization.
Chaplains, who receive both religious and military training, are assigned to a unit and deployed with it. A chaplain’s main responsibility is listening and being a friend, said Bob Vickers, Southern Baptist chaplain at Georgia’s Fort McPherson. “The enemy may be something other than the publicized enemy,” he said, adding that boredom, loneliness, and fear often serve as potent foes.
Even in the absence of active combat, the dangers of service can strike suddenly. As 27-year-old air force Capt. Bradley Schuldt packed for his assignment in the Persian Gulf in late August, he left behind personal belongings to make room for ten Bibles he planned to take to the Muslim world. But he never got the chance to distribute his cargo. He and 12 other airmen were killed in a plane crash outside a West German air base.
From reports by Religious News Service and Sarah Zimmerman
JORDAN
Refugees Caught in Gulf Confrontation
Overlooked in the shadows of military confrontation and Western hostages, refugees from Iraq and Kuwait are pouring into nearby Jordan at a rate of tens of thousands per day. Jordanian Christians and evangelical relief agencies were among the first to respond to the deepening crisis. But food shortages in Jordan and strained budgets at home, complicated by the international economic boycott of Iraq, have quickly strained their resources.
Some 400,000 internationals formerly working in Iraq and Kuwait had entered Jordan by the first week of September. Arriving at the rate of 15,000 to 20,000 a day, up to 1 or 2 million were expected by later in the month, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands, mostly from Asian nations, remained stalled in sweltering camps near Jordan’s border, awaiting exit visas to return to their homelands.
A committee of four Jordanian evangelical churches—Christian and Missionary Alliance, Assemblies of God, Baptist, and the Evangelical Church, totaling about 100 people in all—worked day and night for the first ten days of the crisis, serving 25,000 meals; transporting tents, mattresses, food, and water to refugees at the border; and passing out New Testaments and Christian literature.
Philip Griffith, project manager in Amman for Cyprus-based Venture Middle East, which is helping coordinate the churches’ efforts, praised the Jordanian Christians for meeting more than the physical needs of the refugees. “The people here aren’t afraid to go and spend some time with the refugees and add a personal touch,” he said. He added that the Christians have received favorable coverage in Jordanian papers because of their unselfish work.
The rapid response of the Christian community was publicly acknowledged by Jordan’s King Hussein, according to Ted Yamamori, president of Food for the Hungry, which promised to air lift in $1.2 million worth of medical supplies donated by MAP International.
Other evangelical agencies have offered both expertise and money to deal with the growing needs of the refugees. Samaritan’s Purse shipped 6.6 tons of food, milk powder, vitamins, and blankets in early September. By mid month, World Vision had pledged $65,000 for food, water, shelter, hygiene, and transportation needs of refugees in Jordan.
World Relief, the relief-and-development arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, committed to send $380,000 to the Jordanian Christians to assist their efforts. World Relief officials were hoping half of that amount would come from the U.S. State Department. However, Africa-Middle East director Dick Anderson said that although the agency presented a proposal requesting funds in late August and government officials had promised a reply within 48 hours, as of September 4 he had not received a response.
“I think the State Department has been slow in responding due to the whole political situation with [Jordan’s] King Hussein, and very little money, if any, has gotten into the hands of private, voluntary organizations,” Anderson said.
The relief agencies’ task has also been made more difficult by the international embargo against Iraq. As Iraq’s major trading partner, Jordan has also felt the effects of the embargo. According to Griffith, the Jordanian believers had been buying cheap rice locally for Asian refugees during the first few days of the crisis. But by the end of August, all the rice was gone and the government had started assigning ration cards for food.
Anderson said the local churches’ initial plan was to buy local commodities. But they now will have to bring food in from outside Jordan, a task that is growing increasingly difficult. Some observers believe the refugee problem could quickly overshadow the military face-off. “There are a hundred times more people coming in than going out,” Anderson said. “This problem is not going to disappear in the next couple or three months.”
By Stan Guthrie.
