Americans bow before holy shrine to deter protesters [Yesterday at Najaf, Iraq]

American soldiers retreated warily from the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf yesterday after a furious crowd gathered around them to stop foreign soldiers from approaching one of the holiest shrines of Shia Islam.

"Everybody smile!" shouted the platoon commander as he told his baffled men to kneel down and point their weapons at the ground, in a surreal act of submission.

The mightiest army in the world is learning the hard way the awkward art of trying to "win the hearts and minds" of suspicious civilians.

In other cities civilians have largely been bystanders in the military drama, neither rising up to cheer nor uniting to resist.

But in Najaf, hundreds poured into the streets to block the way of American soldiers as they came within sight of the golden dome of the mosque. They waved the soldiers away as some explained in broken English: "In the city, OK. In the mosque, No!"

The mosque is the reputed burial place of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam and the first Imam of Shia Islam.

It was damaged by Iraqi forces during the Shi'ite uprising against Saddam Hussein at the end of the 1991 Gulf war. But despite any hatred Najaf's people may harbour for Saddam, they seem resolutely opposed to having "infidel" soldiers violating the holy ground.

Nevertheless, the city's religious authorities seem to be reaching an accommodation with the occupying forces.

According to a US commander in the Gulf, Brig-Gen Vincent Brooks, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Najaf has issued a religious edict urging Iraqis to remain calm and not to hinder American forces.

Across Najaf, American forces searched buildings for Fedayeen paramilitary fighters loyal to Saddam.

US officers said most of the Fedayeen forces had simply dropped their equipment and fled, but some were still putting up a fight.

I always like posts that sound so gooood and make no sense. There were people firing at soldiers from the mosques, weren't there? This is a war - no one was asking to defile a temple or take communion. Totally a non answer.

You're a little bit behind the news cycle, nanny. The snipers were there on 1 April. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks called the Iraqi fire from inside the Ali Mosque in Najaf "a detestable example of putting historical sites in danger".

These soldiers were doing a routine foot patrol with no intention of assaulting the mosque. If you are going to take out snipers, you don't saunter up the middle of a street on foot. You approach with the cover of your armored vehicles.

I believe, there is no winning the hearts and minds of these people as a whole and I don't think we have time to do it one at a time. WE have many who have lived in this country for years and still want to do us harm. WE had several who lived, trained and enjoyed the freedoms of this country and they flew aiplanes into buildings and killed 3,000 and intended to kill more. So much for learning to love us.

It is fortunate, nanny, that "Mohammed", the Iraqi that risked his life to save Pfc. Jessica Lynch was not as filled with religious hate and bigotry as you are.

When you refer to "these people", who are you referring to, nanny?

All Arabs? All Muslims? All Iraqis? All Saudis? All white American Hollywood types who pass no opportunity to spread anti-American rhetoric? "Mohammed", who saved PfC Jessica Lynch's life?

You are trying to turn Operation Iraqi Freedom into a religious war. It is not.

The Baathist thugs are secular and have brutally suppressed the Shiite Muslims in Najaf and the rest of southern Iraq. The Baathists even outlawed the traditional calls to prayer and have desecrated and destroyed Shiite mosques. By your logic, we should be on Saddam's side.

If you are going to put religion front and center for every conflict we fight, let's start with the Germans in World War One. They were Christians. So Christian, in fact, that their belt buckles had the motto "Gott mit Uns" ("God is with us") inscribed on them. Since the Germans were mainly either Catholics or Lutherans, maybe Americans should have gone out of their way to desecrate Catholic Churches in France and Belgium. That would have showed those Germans!

The French were Christians, mostly Catholic. How much do they love us now?

There is no doubt that certain radical segments of Islam do their best to spread religious hatred. There is no doubt that certain self-proclaimed "Christians" belonging to the Ku Klux Klan do their best to spread religious hatred too.

However, going out of your way to violate the Shiite religous beliefs of the Saadam-hating Shiite Muslim Iraqis that we are now liberating makes as much sense as having Jews or Catholics go out of their way to desecrate black Southern Baptist Churches in order to take revenge on Ku Klux Klan members who proclaim themselves to be "Christian".

I don't like to see American soldiers bow, in what the journalist called 'submission' in front of anything - period. Call that crude - call it unenlightened - but it is fact.

You are falling for that journalist's spin hook, line and sinker, nanny.

The American soldiers did not "bow". They did not show "submission".

They put one knee down on the ground, pointed their guns towards the ground and smiled in unison as a sign language declaration that they had no hostile intent.

I know exactly what they did because I saw the news video of the incident.

It's a good thing that this journalist did not describe it as "bowing towards Mecca and chanting Muslims prayers" or that would really have sent you into orbit.

I believe I said one on one, they are some very good people, did you not see that or just want to disregard it - but as a whole, we are not going to win the hearts and minds of Muslims to 'love' us. Look at the other countries where they are and what they are doing. Or does that not fit into the 'touchy-feely' neocon platform?

Yes, the great people who saved that soldier are wonderful - and I am grateful to them. But you see, she was there supposedly to save them - and so are thousands of other Americans. But believe me, the sentiment will be, as expressed many times in the articles I have read. "We want Saddam gone - but we don't want you here either."

I repeat we have many, many living here, born here who have tasted freedom and been treated kindly, given jobs, loans, and many things the average American can not get and they still turn on us.

Now don't forget where the 9/11 murderers learned their deadly ability of 'steering an airplane'.

Do you not realize that many of them like the ones who falsely complained about harrassment and those who complain that someone stared at them because they wore a burka, etc., are just using the US and are laughing at us. I don't like being a chump - just goes against the grain.

I do have "religious axe to grind". I believe that denial of God, of Christ is a great sin.

Fortunately, we're not a theocracy. Military troops have a mlitary mission. That mission is not to expand Christianity, nor should it be.

What if your officer tells you to proclaim Mohammad as true prophet of God and Koran as the true book.

Yeah, I'd do it if there was a military purpose. No big deal to mouth some words I don't believe in to save lives. It's the same as any other propaganda or deception that you might use.

Let's take your scenario. The troops ignore the orders they are given, and a riot breaks out. The troops fire, killing a bunch of civilians, and perhaps the troops get overwhelmed as well. So we've got a bunch of dead folk, and have ignited a town that would otherwise be pacified. You're mighty brave spouting your extremism with other people's lives.

Oh, we'd be much better of if you were in command.

I consider this a very smart move and reminded me of the many situations in which the Apostle Paul found himself in the New Testament, both in the Book of Acts and in his later ministry, as summarized in the following verses which he wrote under God's inspiration (I Corinthians 9:18-23). Verses 20b-22 speak directly to this incident.

18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

There is also an Old Testament record where God's prophet okayed a believer going into a pagan temple with his employer (the King). While outward observance and show is all important to many non-Christian religions (wash feet, face East, etc.), the true God looks on the heart of a man.

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