In addition to the various forms of physical and sexual abuse that American soldiers committed against Iraqi prisoners, it now looks like they engaged in religious abuse as well, forcing Iraqis to proclaim religious beliefs contrary to Islam.

The Washington Post reports:

"Do you pray to Allah?" one asked. "I said yes. They said, '[Expletive] you. And [expletive] him.' One of them said, 'You are not getting out of here health[y], you are getting out of here handicapped. And he said to me, 'Are you married?' I said, 'Yes.' They said, 'If your wife saw you like this, she will be disappointed.' One of them said, 'But if I saw her now she would not be disappointed now because I would rape her.' "

He said the soldiers told him that if he cooperated with interrogators they would release him in time for Ramadan. He said he did, but still was not released. He said one soldier continued to abuse him by striking his broken leg and ordered him to curse Islam. "Because they started to hit my broken leg, I cursed my religion," he said. "They ordered me to thank Jesus that I'm alive." ... "Do you believe in anything?" he said the soldier asked. "I said to him, 'I believe in Allah.' So he said, "But I believe in torture and I will torture you.' "

Islam, like Judaism, is more a religion of orthopraxy whereas Christianity is a religion of orthodoxy. What this means is that, in Islam, what you do is critical to being a “good Muslim.” Actions are not limited to praying five times a day, but also what you say — after all, one of the Five Pillars of Islam is to say that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. The first word in the Quran is Recite! - an action. To say that one thanks Jesus for being alive is, in a sense, to reject some of Islam.

Read More:

• Recent Books on Islam
• Islam
• Religion in Iraq