Holy War

Aljazeera recently reported U.S. soldiers were encouraged to spread their Christian faith among Afghanistan"s predominantly Muslim population. The story spread world wide like wildfire, testifying to the ever growing impact of the Qatar based news outlet.

In a time, where headlines are dominated by the financial crisis, the influenza pandemic and Taliban's presence only 60 miles from Islamabad, the capital of nuclear armed Pakistan, the story of over-zealous Christian soldiers conducting their own special mission among Muslims may not seem like too big a deal.

Still, it may be the most significant news story these days.

In a sermon Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley compared Christians to special forces hunting men down.

"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business", Hensley said, alluding to the title of a book by the famous Evangelical writer, C.S. Lewis.

In a region of the world dominated by Muslims who are increasingly weary of Western tampering, military incursions and anti-Islamic rhetoric the combination of military force and Christian evangelism reinforces already lurking suspicions that the War on Terror is really a new crusade.

It paints an unfortunate picture of a Holy War waged by a self-righteous Christian West gone on the rampage with "a Bible and a gun."

If this view becomes the predominant view of the two American wars in the Middle East, it will likely have the directly opposite effect than intended and pave way for a Muslim fundamentalist backlash of proportions.