Walking “enemy” lines

One pastor shares about stepping into the shoes of Iraqis just prior to the U.S.-led war in the country

For one month in 2002—about nine months after 9/11 and nine months before the U.S. occupation in Iraq began—13 USAmericans, one Palestinian, one Irishwoman, and one Canadian went on the 300-mile Compassion Iraq Peace Walk through the Syrian Desert between the Jordan–Iraq border in Baghdad. Camping with the Bedouins on some nights, the group expressed their opposition to the impending war by carrying signs advocating peace and love in English & Arabic through cities like Fallujah and Ramadi—both of which have been reduced to a little more than rubble since by U.S.–coalition forces—Basra, Mosul, and Babylon.

Joshua Grace, a BIC pastor at Circle of Hope (Philadelphia) and a participant on the trip, shares his reflections on the experience, on the “enemies” he found there, and on the conclusions he’s come to regarding his allegiances.