I told my commander that finding the required religious items needed a solution, and the military could not legally pay. He advised me to partner with the general for possible host nation support. The general suggested pounding on every door at the Bagdad Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA). The Minister of Medicine and Religion in Bagdad was the designated official for the solution. He notified Saudia Arabia who quickly provided 2000 spiritual supplies for my detainees and another 4000 shortly after for other chaplains. I was very gracious to him, and within several days, 2000 of each religious supply was delivered to a Mosque in the heart of Bagdad for retrieval.
Our military police battalion drove two military trucks to fill the cargo bay with religious supplies. We met at an older neighborhood Mosque in Baghdad. The streets were empty, as if they knew our presence. They lived in a tribal culture, and the word traveled quickly. What I mean is, if we stopped at an open mosque in Bagdad unannounced, all hell may break loose. The Imam may only live for a short time. The community is difficult to explain. Winning the hearts and minds of the people by nonlethal means is protocol. The people trusted us with their sacred items for the families in their city jails. This ripple effect was a grace moment.
A surreal experience happened to me at the Mosque. A gentleman said, please tell your people to not touch the items. We will load the trucks ourselves. As we walked down a grand old marble prayer room, 40 to 50 boys emerged from hiding, lined up equally on each side of the room. They quickly ran barefoot to fill the trucks. What felt most sacred was facing the Iman in the middle of his office. Dozens of the Islamic community surrounded us in the room. The shape of the group was a Meccah formation circled together. He blessed me with a confident nod of appreciation, and I returned gratitude with a slight smile and a nod. When we ended our meeting, I saw one of the boys wrestling with the last items to perfect and secure the loading process. We immediately delivered the religious supplies to the detainees in a single file secure line so that they could receive the items and neatly folded the carpet over their Quran.
The second Mosque was much different. Walls surrounded a lovely courtyard and porch. They were a wealthy mosque, and the Iman was not shy. He enjoyed socializing. My commanded chaplain and I gathered with him for a photo with the boxes of 4000 Qurans behind us. Security was not as intense as the first Mosque which faced an open line of site from various directions. The first Imam was eager to share with the people. We spiritually connected to provide together religious support for the detainees. Thanks be to God that we did not falter in our mission. Many believed such a significant charitable contribution of religious supplies for our detainees was an impossible mission.
