Evangelicals “Rock” Morocco – Like Kids Playing With Matches

NY Times: “Christian Rock for Muslims,” by Samuel Loewenberg, May 10, 2005.

Sometimes you just can’t believe it when you see it … and when I saw the front page of the Arts section, my head could barely stop spinning …

And then I read it, and it was even worse than I thought …

To give you the very worst part first (bold emphasis mine):

“We see ourselves as doing important foreign policy work that the Bush Administration is not doing,” said the Rev. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, a Christian-values lobbying group in Washington and one of the organizers of the festival.

So now these guys see themselves as being part of the Bush administration foreign-policy juggernaut –

It’s apparently not enough to be destroying the wall between church and state in the US, and using taxpayer dollars to engage in right-wing “faith-based” social policy …

now they have to go to other countries – seeing themselves, and, undoubtedly, being perceived as unofficial ambassadors from the United States government …

Wow …

You can also see at play here the brilliant understanding of other countries and cultures that has been the hallmark of the US adventure in Iraq to this point:

“As followers of Jesus, we should, in our civic capacity, work to reduce conflict by promoting international understanding,” he said.

Of course, as these morons soon found out, what they were ACTUALLY doing was CREATING conflict … and in one of the FEW parts of the Arab world not already dominated by anti-US venom:

After criticism from the press and Islamist groups, the Moroccan government canceled a planned conference on Christian-Muslim dialogue that was to have taken place in the week leading up to the rock festival. …

One organizer, Michael Kirtley, had called the event “an expedition for hearts and minds.” Mr. Schenk had told The Christian Post, that the evangelicals would “communicate clearly why we personally embrace Jesus Christ.”

By the time of the concert, however, the evangelicals were watching their words, and there were no references to Christianity in promotional materials or on stage, outside the lyrics of the songs.

Evangelical attendees were given written instructions by the organizers not to proselytize, which is illegal in Morocco. In interviews with more than a dozen of the evangelical Christians attending the concert, most stuck closely to that script, speaking instead about “bridging cultures” and “making friends.”

One, who would give only his first name, Samuel, said that some of his friends had been interrogated by the Moroccan authorities on suspicion of proselytizing. Many of the American Christians at the festival said they were thrilled at the chance to interact with local Muslims.

“To play worship music openly in a Muslim country, this is something that lots of people have been praying for for a long time,” said Steve Iliff, a 44-year-old cook from Wisconsin who had traveled to the concert with four other members of his church.

Not to be too Jeananne Garofalo about it – she, btw, is without doubt the most intelligent, interesting, informed and dynamic of the Air America regulars –

but you just have to visualize – see, we can be “faith-based” too :-) – these guys sitting around in a kitchen, listening to “worship music,” and saying, “Man it would be SO cool to hear this in a Muslim country,”

to realize how TRULY scary this whole initiative is … and yet these guys apparently feel entitled to pass themselves off as auxiliaries of the Condi Rice State Department.

Jeezus … so to speak …

The sad thing is that the Moroccans – who are pretty laid back when it comes to cultural openness – seem to think they’re taking a page from the Israeli right-wing playbook – and the REALLY sad thing is, they’re probably right !!!

From the Moroccan government’s point of view, it was a chance to interact with what is perceived to be a politically influential group in American politics at a time when the country has been criticized on its human rights record and continues to grapple with a longstanding dispute over the status of Western Sahara.

Some media commentators in Morocco said that by befriending the evangelicals, the government was attempting to curry favor with American political leaders. The magazine Telquel said the government’s embrace of the festival was intended to “sell the image of Morocco to the neo-conservative lobby in America.”

Now it’s not surprising that Moroccans don’t understand that evangelicals and neo-conservatives are not exactly the same thing …

But replace “neo-conservative lobby” with “right-wing movement,” and they’re on the money …

And there’s a very definite point on which the Moroccan government is hoping for some results:

For Morocco, a pressing issue is Western Sahara, former Spanish territory that has been under Moroccan control for much of the past three decades. More than 150,000 former nomads from the region, the Sahrawi, have been in refugee camps in Algeria since fleeing the invading Moroccan army in 1975. Several American evangelical groups have provided assistance to the refugees and backed calls for a referendum to resolve the region’s status. Some here say the government’s welcome to the evangelicals was an attempt to co-opt their support.

In fact, one of the evangelical leaders who was behind the Christian rock festival, the Rev. Rob Schenck, who leads the conservative Christian lobbying group Faith and Action in Washington, said that after what he had seen in his meetings with Moroccan officials he would now seek to get evangelicals to reassess their position on Western Sahara and the Sahwaris’ political leadership, the Polisario Front.

“Evangelical Christians have to be extremely cautious about supporting any group that would sympathize with a socialist or Communist philosophy or world view, which is completely in conflict with an evangelical or Christian worldview,” Mr. Schenck said in an interview. He said Moroccan officials had told the evangelical leaders that the Polisario had received Cuban training and aid.

Good ole anti-Communism … it can still work miracles, praise the Lord !!!

But while the basically liberal Moroccan government may think they’re going to get some play re the Western Sahara out of all this,

they too are playing with fire … fortunately, a lot of the Christian message seems to have gone right over the heads of the kids who showed up …

In a sprawling open space alongside the Royal Palace here last Saturday night, Baimik Youness and his friend Salahe Boudde were jumping with excitement, about to see their first American rock concert.

The Moroccan students had never heard of the band, Rock ’n’ Roll Worship Circus. Nor had they realized that the three-day concert they were attending was a Christian rock festival.

“It’s not my business,” said Mr. Youness, an 18-year-old Muslim and heavy-metal fan. “I just want to listen to the music.”

But Mr. Boudde had a question: “What are ‘evangelicals’?” …

Some Moroccans at the concert, like Mahmoud Zuine, a 21-year-old economics student, enjoyed the music but found the Christian component of the rock concert unsettling. “They know we love this music, so they use this music to pass their message,” Mr. Zuine said. “It’s like a magic way. It’s not direct.”

But he doubted that many of the Moroccans understood the lyrics. “I laugh because nobody knows what they are saying,” he said.

Well, both the government and the evangelicals better HOPE they remain ignorant of what they’re saying …

because even though Morocco is pretty mellow, we shouldn’t forget that it was Moroccan immigrants to the Netherlands who killed and then desecrated the body of Theo Van Gogh – and who have continued to threaten Hirsi Ali, the brave Somali woman whom he had befriended …

And if it can happen in Europe, it can EASILY happen in Morocco itself … which really WOULD be a tragedy,

because it’s still one of the few places in the Arab / Muslim world where Westerners can move around freely and comfortably.

So I hope they’ll do us all a favor, and stay the fuck away from Morocco in the future – this just has the smell of impending disaster.