Inviting Graham to lead Good Friday prayers irked the Pentagon's Muslim employees

WASHINGTON, April 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Muslims working in the U.S. Defense Department lambasted plans for Franklin Graham, an outspoken critic of Islam who once called it a "wicked" religion, to lead Good Friday prayers at the Pentagon on April 18, a leading U.S. newspaper reported Wednesday, April 16.

In letters to the Pentagon chaplain's office, Muslim office workers protested the choice of Graham and urged officials to find "a more inclusive and honorable Christian clergyman" to lead the April 18 service, Washington Post reported.

Graham's statements about Islam "have been very controversial and divisive," charged Zadil Ansari, lay leader of the Muslim community at the Pentagon.

However, spokeswoman Martha Rudd said the Pentagon chaplain's office would not rescind the invitation, adding that some Christian employees had requested Graham as a guest preacher.

"The chaplain's office here, just like at any Army installation, regularly assists groups of various faiths to hold their services," Rudd said.

"If a Jewish group wants to invite a particular speaker, they'll do that. Muslims hold services here, too. The Army chaplains are absolutely nonjudgmental of any faith that soldiers want to follow."

Graham, who heads Samaritan's Purse which is readying workers to enter Iraq, has long championed efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity.

During the 1991 Gulf War, he irked General Norman Schwarzkopf by sending 30,000 Arabic-language bibles for U.S. troops to distribute in Muslim countries, said the Post.

Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, Graham claimed in a televised interview that Islam was "a very evil and wicked religion."

The Council on  American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other Muslim groups in the United States have recently objected to plans by Samaritan's Purse  to send aid workers into Iraq, calling the humanitarian efforts a cover for proselytizing.

The Muslim World League (MWL) warned Tuesday, April 15, that some "non-Muslim organizations" might exploit the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, in an apparent reference to Christian missionaries.

"Poised, Ready"

In a recent interview with the religiously-oriented web site Beliefnet, Graham said he has relief workers "poised and ready" to go into Iraq to provide for the populations post-war physical and spiritual needs.

He renewed allegations that "the Qur'an teaches violence, not peace..."

The Southern Baptist Convention, the U.S. largest Protestant denomination, also reported that workers were on the Iraqi-Jordanian borders ready to go in as soon as it is safe.

Iraq is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, with members of the Shiite sect making up around 60 percent of the population of about 24 million.

It is also home to a Christian minority numbering around 250,000.

But Graham appears to have broad support among evangelical Christians, according to Washington Post.

According to a poll released last week by the Ethics & Public Policy Center and Beliefnet, 70 percent of evangelical leaders consider Islam "a religion of violence" and 81 percent believe it is "very important" to convert Muslims abroad.