(danielpipes.org) Daniel Pipes - Four Western "peace activists" from Christian Peacemaker Teams were kidnapped in western Baghdad on Nov. 26 by a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. What is the possible logic of the abductors? The statement that accompanied the video that charged the men with "working undercover as Christian peace activists" provides some clues. First, for Islamists and other Iraqis, an organization with "Christian" in the title must be missionary in purpose and presumably targeting Muslims for conversion, something they find unacceptable. Second, the notion that Westerners, and Americans especially, are more sympathetic to the Islamists than to the U.S. government just does not register. Iraqis more readily see such people as spies. Put another way, how could the "Swords of Righteousness Brigade" understand the "Christian Peacemaker Teams"? Their names alone point to a nearly unbridgeable divide.
2005-12-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive