APRIL 21, 2003

WAR
Aid efforts spark debate over how, what to give

The U.S. government, the United Nations and many charities are planning millions of dollars in humanitarian aid for Iraq. Everyone agrees that it's desperately needed, but fierce debate exists over what to give and how to give it. One major battle: Where does religion fit in? ReligionLink offers local story angles and regional interview sources.

Why it matters
Experts say that the U.S. government's handling of religious humanitarian aid could have long-lasting effects on how the United States and Christians are viewed abroad, by Muslims in particular.

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Local story angles for reporters
• The U.S. government has put the Pentagon in charge of postwar humanitarian aid in Iraq instead of civilians. Many charities, religious and secular, have argued that the military, which takes sides in war, cannot be counted on to not take sides when offering aid to all Iraqis. Talk to charities in your area. Many get more money to help poor people from government grants than they do from congregations and other religious groups. What does government money allow them to do in your community? What strings are attached? What do they think about the Pentagon's role in aid to Iraq?
• Two members of the charity Doctors Without Borders were kidnapped in Iraq during the war but later released. Many aid organizations fear for the safety of workers sent to Iraq. Several have complained that having the U.S. military in charge of humanitarian aid will increase the chance that workers' lives will be endangered because they will not be seen as neutral. Are congregations or charities in your area sending mission or aid workers to Iraq? What safety training are they receiving? How are they supported locally? What do they say about the risks they face? Most areas have missionaries who have worked in other countries. What do they say about the challenges of working in postwar Iraq?
• Some evangelical Protestant groups have come under fire for their plans to give aid in Iraq with the hope of converting Muslims. Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and many minority faiths choose instead to give aid without attempting to convert people to their beliefs. Why do some Christian groups say they are called to evangelize when helping the needy, while others do not? How do these two approaches play out in your community? Do recipients of help say it matters who is offering them food and services? Do they say they appreciate being offered spiritual sustenance along with food or shelter? Have they ever felt coerced to listen to or accept religious beliefs?
• Opinions about Islam have caused deepening divisions among faith groups since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While some evangelical groups have deemed it "an evil religion," others emphasize its common roots with Christianity and Judaism. A survey by the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Beliefnet found that 81 percent of evangelical leaders said it was "very important" Muslims abroad should be evangelized, and 52 percent said it was "very important" Muslims should be welcomed into the American community; 41 percent said it was "somewhat important." What do clergy and residents in your area say about their views of Islam? How have they changed since Sept. 11, 2001?
• The Bush administration has set out new ways to involve faith-based organizations in government work. Some welcome these efforts because of religious groups' track record in helping the needy, while others say they blur the line between separating church and state. Should the government sanction religious groups to provide aid in Iraq? Why or why not?
• The U.S. government has committed millions of dollars to help Iraqis with medical care, water, food and shelter. At the same time, severe budget crises in most U.S. states are forcing big cuts in health care and aid programs for the elderly and the poor. Talk to residents, charities and congregations in your area about how they balance local needs with international ones.
• Are Muslim congregations and charities in your area planning to send money and aid to Iraq? Given the high-profile efforts of some Christian charities, do the Muslim charities also say they believe that their efforts are welcomed by the U.S. government?
• Are Jewish charities in your area planning aid for Iraqis? Why do they say they want to help a country that once bombed Israel?

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT
• The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention plans to send several hundred Americans to Iraq to provide food and shelter and to evangelize. It is based in Richmond, Va. Contact board president Jerry Rankin at 804-219-1000.
• Samaritan's Purse International Relief, the foundation of Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, plans to send workers into Iraq at the conclusion of the war. A press release outlines plans. Contact headquarters in Boone, N.C., 828-262-1980.
• World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, has established workers in a Jordan border camp for Iraqi refugees. Contact Galen Carey, 443-451-1962, gcarey@wr.org.
• The International Bible Society has just published a Scripture booklet especially for Iraqi refugees.

OTHER PROTESTANT
• Church World Service represents 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican communions. The agency has shipped $3.8 million of aid, primarily medical supplies, to Iraq during the last 12 years. Rick Augsburger, who directs emergency programs from New York, has said CWS will not let its efforts be directed by the military. Contact 212-870-2061.
• World Vision has an on-line Iraq Press Kit that outlines the organization's relief plans, though officials say they may change because they are dismayed that the U.S. military is coordinating efforts. World Vision was originally evangelical in nature but does not now evangelize its beneficiaries. Contact Sheryl Watkins, 253-815-2246 or 888-787-3056 (pager).
• Action by Churches Together International is an organization of 195 Orthodox and Protestant churches that works to provide relief and has plans for Iraq.
• Lutheran World Relief, which provides aid on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is based in Baltimore. Contact Jonathan Frerichs, 410-230-2802, 410-230-2800.
• Healing Hands International is a nonprofit organization based in Nashville, Tenn., and Abilene, Texas, that works with Christian churches to collect, ship and distribute medications, medical supplies and equipment, agricultural aid, school supplies and other items that reduce human suffering. The group, affiliated with the Churches of Christ, plans to ship such supplies to Iraq. Contact 615-832-2000.

CATHOLIC
• Nazare Albuquerque is an expert on post-conflict emergency relief for Catholic Relief Services, which is sponsored by the U.S. Catholic Bishops and based in Baltimore. She has said she fears that aid workers will not be seen as neutral - and thus could be targets - if the U.S. military directs relief efforts. Contact 410-951-7350.
• The Rev. Drew Christiansen, associate editor of America magazine, is an adviser to U.S. bishops on international policy. He was director of the Office of International Justice and Peace for the United States Catholic Conference from 1991 to 1998. Contact 212-581-4640.

MUSLIM
• ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) Relief is meeting with several religious charities, including Catholic Charities and the American Friends Service Committee, to coordinate relief efforts. Contact Chairman Tariq Rahman, 718-658-1199, 646-208-1817 (cell).
• Islamic Relief USA has established bases in Amman, Jordan, and Baghdad to monitor humanitarian aid needs. Contact 888-479-4968, 818-216-9723.
• Gulf Medical Relief Fund sends medical relief to Iraqis, Palestinians and refugees in Kosovo. The group plans to establish a clinic in Jordan, possibly in conjunction with a Jordanian hospital. Holly Al-Dahir runs the organization with her husband, Abdul Sattar Dahir. She says that since the U.S. government has investigated Global Relief, the Holy Land Foundation and other Islamic charities in the United States, many other Islamic philanthropies believe that they are not welcome in the humanitarian effort in Iraq. Contact Holly Al-Dahir or Abdul Sattar Dahir, 504-455-5611, gmrf@yahoo.com.

JEWISH
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is collecting money to provide nonsectarian aid to the people of Iraq. Contact assistant executive vice president Amir Shaviv, 212-885-0850.
• American Jewish World Service is working to combine efforts with other humanitarian relief agencies to provide food and water in Iraq. Contact 1-800-889-7146.
• American Jewish Committee is in discussion with other American Jewish NGOs to decide what humanitarian aid they can provide in Iraq. Contact Ken Bendler, director of communications, 212-751-4000.

OTHER NATIONAL SOURCES
• Jonathan Bonk is executive director of the Overseas Ministries Studies Center and editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research. He can discuss the different approaches of religious groups and their origins in their history and faith. Contact 203-624-6672, bonk@omsc.org.
• Edith Blumhofer is a historian of evangelical Christianity in America and director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College. Contact 630-752-5437, isae@wheaton.edu.
• Tom Farr of the U.S. State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom can talk about how the government views Americans' missionary work abroad. Contact 202-647-0463.
• J. Dudley Woodberry is a professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Mission and author of an article, "Terrorism, Islam, and Mission: Reflections of a Guest in Muslim Lands." He is an expert on Islam and Christian missions. He will be out of the country May 5-29 but will be reachable by email. Contact 626-584-5286, dudley@fuller.edu.
• The Rev. Scott Campbell is interim director of the Directory for International Congregations, a network of English-speaking congregations worldwide. Contact 617-354-0837, director@internationalcongregations.net.
• Oliver Ulich is with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Contact Phyllis Lee, 212-963-3759, 212-963-4832.
• Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. He can discuss the ethics behind religious groups' providing humanitarian aid in Iraq. He says that the media have misunderstood groups such as Samaritan's Purse and their desire to provide aid in Iraq and that all religious groups have a First Amendment right to say what they want to in Iraq or elsewhere. Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• Lawrence Uzzell is chairman of Keston USA, a funding organization that supports research activities monitoring threats to religious freedom in Communist and ex-Communist countries. He spent seven years in Moscow monitoring religious freedom and the activities of missionaries and can discuss different approaches to mission/humanitarian work and their reception by local residents. Contact 972-938-7919, lauzzell@aol.com.

Background
• Read an April 15, 2003, Time magazine interview with Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary about humanitarian aid and evangelism in Iraq.
• Read an April 13, 2003, Time magazine article about the controversy over Christian aid in Iraq.
• Read a 2003 Beliefnet story about why evangelicals are targeting Iraqis for conversion now and another story about Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse's plans for aid in Iraq.
• Read a Dec. 31, 2002, New York Times story about how Muslims' anger abroad is affecting Christian missionaries.
• Read a Sept. 18, 2002, Christian Chronicle article that explores the effect of the then possible war with Iraq on American missions to the Middle East.
• A Feb. 20, 2003, article in the Christian Science Monitor looks at how Christian missionaries are adjusting to the growing violence against them in Muslim nations.
• A March 7, 2002, article from the United Methodist News Service looks at the dangers facing Methodist missionaries in the Middle East.
• A Jan. 2, 2003, Los Angeles Times article posted on the web site of The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., examines how the number of Christian missionaries in the Middle East is increasing despite the growing violence against them.
• Read an April 17, 2003, New York Times story posted on the Muslim Public Affairs Council's web site that reports that Muslims say they are afraid to give to Muslim charities in an effort to help Iraqis because of the U.S. government's scrutiny of them.