US Army Allegedly Burned Bibles So As Not To Proselytize

Following a report it ran earlier this month regarding evangelical US soldiers in Afghanistan seeking to distribute bibles in Pashtun and Dari, Al Jazeera now reports that those bibles have been confiscated and burned. According to Al Jazeera:

"My understanding is that the [military] leadership confiscated these bibles so that they could not be distributed around Afghanistan, Colonel Greg Julian told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

"It was their best judgement at the time, that the best way to deal with it, was to destroy them and I understand that they were burnt."

The Al Jazeera report earlier this month is said to have been filmed about a year ago. It shows a small contingent of Bagram Air Force Base soldiers convening for prayer with stacks of the bibles in question. One soldier who is interviewed describes the difference between "proselytizing" and giving gifts as justification for trying to distribute the Bibles.

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Comments

[RationalDubSteppa]

05:11 PM on 05/21/2009

Sounds like a good use of gasoline and a match!

[majormoderate]

03:54 PM on 05/21/2009

Good. Bibles are the only books that should be burned.

[MikeHermit]

03:19 PM on 05/21/2009

I am a Vet and an Atheist.

The idea that our troops would think they need to "give gifts" of bibles, especially after Bush sold this as a "crusade" does not suprise me, but it is still appauling.

Our soldiers are not missionaries. They are soldiers. While showing good will, being a good example of the US populace is important that can all be erased by giving out bibles as a troop.

The Bible is not welcome in most Islamic circles just as the Koran would not be accepted in most Christian circles. It is insensative at best. But I never argued that Christians were very sensative towards others, or very intelligent.

[fbr79]

04:16 PM on 05/21/2009

I'm a Vet and an Atheist as well. Did you serve in the war zone in the past 8 years, did you see anyone distributing bibles? I never seen anyone giving out bibles to Muslims anywhere. I do not dispute that some knuckleheads might have done it own their own. However, this insunuation that it is Army policy to give out bibles and to try to convert people is simply ridiculous.

[RationalDubSteppa]

05:15 PM on 05/21/2009

I agree and it has been rather well documented how the evangelical movement has been infiltrating the military as they see the war in Iraq as a modern day Jericho or something to that effect, with the need to go and preach.

[CJFreeze]

12:00 PM on 05/21/2009

In a way I think perhaps burning them wasn't the best of choices. Myself, a non religious individual, I have respect for people who are believers and think that they have a right to their own religion and choices. But as far as the war in Iraq and the cultural impacts giving bibles out to the public, its plain stupid and merely adding fuel to the fire for those that stand against the US in their homeland.

Perhaps those soldiers are angry about the issue but they have to keep in mind that their actions reflect the United Stares on an international level and should stay as diplomatic as possible, and there is little room for religion in Diplomacy.

[Khirad]

08:45 AM on 05/21/2009

Why would they want a copy of the Injil? Honestly, seeing that Evangelical congregation I can honestly say it's a toss-up in my mind over who is more indoctrinated -- the child bobbing his head back and forth memorizing a book in a foreign tongue in some madrasah, an assembled throng listening to anti-American screeds outside a mosque after Friday prayer -- or these imbeciles praising a Jesus I wouldn't recognize and proselytizing on Uncle Sam's dime.

"If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: but many of them follow a course that is evil." Qur'an 5:66

[fbr79]

04:19 PM on 05/21/2009

I can say that the kids at the madrasah are "more indoctrinated". As crazy as they are, I haven't heard any Evangelicals using the words of the bible to justify killing people of different beliefs and I haven't seen any pictures of little jeebus freaks strapped with suicide vests in parades. No contest there.

[Paulo1]

08:31 AM on 05/21/2009

I am firmly against burning books so they won't be read.

That type of thing goes bad places and should not be tolerated.

Shame on the military.

PS> you may however have some firm words with those soldiers about the need to not piss off the locals

[RationalDubSteppa]

05:20 PM on 05/21/2009

*Sigh* - You missed the point. They didn't burn them so they wouldn't get read... they burned them so American Soldiers wouldn't die because of the faith-based frenzy that would've been whipped up if this had come full force into light. You have to understand that people by faith our very primal by nature they don't take too kindly to outsiders, especially outsiders they perceive as a threat to their faith.

P.S. HuffPo Censures; if your reading this, then....
"Give Speech a Chance"

[vippy]

08:12 AM on 05/21/2009

Why is this even a story? We used to have bibles in hotel rooms and they slowly disappeared.
I threw my own two out I inherited for taking up space.

[BobDobbs757]

08:11 AM on 05/21/2009

*Applauds the US Army's actions* Last thing we need is another action to feed fuel to the debacle in the middle east. The Islamic world does not like western world people and we should be out as soon as possible. Any one remember the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan?

History.. will prevent stupidity.
Assumptions make an *ss out of you and me.

[1differentdrummer]

06:30 AM on 05/21/2009

Isn't it time to get religion out of the military altogether? By this I don't mean troops need to give up their religions, but isn't it inappropriate for religion to exist within the institution?

[Khirad]

08:50 AM on 05/21/2009

I do believe there have been Constitutional questions raised whether or not chaplains violate the Separation of Church and State. I say whatever gets you through a warzone, myself. Just keep it professional and discreet. As Jesus said: pray in the closet.

[demigod]

11:23 AM on 05/21/2009

Not only should we get religion out of the military, we should get it out of the Congress. Appalling. There is no way in the world Congress should open its sessions with prayer. There are thousands of churches in Washington for the pious Congressmen and women to go to on their own time. They can worship cumquats if they want to.

[MikeHermit]

03:28 PM on 05/21/2009

I, as a Vet and atheist speaking here, am disgusted that our political leaders need to pray to a higher power in order to do their job better (yet the hypocrits still take corporate money and base their votes on it).

Yet some soldiers need religion. They need a religious person to turn to. When, as a soldier, the possibility of taking another life confronts you some soldiers, with a conflict of religious and duty, need to turn to a religious figure.

I never felt comfortible with Chaplains, but I understood their need for some of our military men and women. Soldiers who could not, while on the battlefield for months, years at a time, simply put on a suit on a Sat. or Sun. and get their spiritual treatment.

I just hate that these Chaplains are actual Army officers wearing the same uniform as I.

[grf67]

05:56 AM on 05/21/2009

I certainly hope that this is true and that we have begun to follow our own laws. There is a reason that our founders separated church and state.

[MRb1000]

04:04 AM on 05/21/2009

All of you out their pounding on these troops and do not understand anything about being in the military. You better believe in something to keep you from losing your mind. How do you think most people that were prisoners the turn to their faith. So stop playing games. Most of you would be cry like baby on your first mission! So leave the military a lone.

[Khirad]

08:45 AM on 05/21/2009

So turn to your faith, and leave the locals out of it.

[hmsbeagle]

05:52 PM on 05/21/2009

yes leave do not touch the locals .

[MikeHermit]

03:36 PM on 05/21/2009

I am a vet, and I have been an atheist in a foxhole. A soldier is free to believe in his faith, not free to preach. If you want to debate me on this I can easily prove you wrong.

Soldiers do not have a freedom of speech that civilians are accustomed to. I always felt it was funny that I fought to preserve freedom of speech while mine was quelched as a soldier. But that is the way it is when you are in the military.

And to pass out bibles does not capture the "hearts and minds" of the muslim population you are trying to win over to make your troops safer and missions more successful.

[deluk]

03:14 AM on 05/21/2009

This is the sort of thing we (the British) did in the 18th century, sailed merrily around the world waving our bibles in the face of the heathen can't think of any good it did. Now they send missionaries from their corrupt, poverty stricken countries to attempt to save OUR souls as they regard US as godless heathens
and thank goodness we are.

[ManwithaParachute]

12:59 AM on 05/21/2009

I find book burning abhorrent but if they had to burn books for fuel or something, I would start with the bible, tora, quran, tax manuals......

[Brandon Crisler]

12:59 AM on 05/21/2009

Now if only they'd get to work with the rest of them! This is the kind of thing I like to see our military doing. Saving lives instead of ending them. Beautiful.

[hmmmmmer]

12:22 AM on 05/21/2009

Sometimes there is no place for the bible, especially in a country where the intelligence level is below the hick hunters in "Deliverance". Apparently they didn't want to send them back because they knew the organization, who sent them, would just try and find another way to get them there, having them there put our soldiers in harms way. Why burn them though, they should have just packed them away. I hate to imagine what would have happened if they would have burnt the Koran and filmed it.