The Foreign Service Journal, October 2003

gential, but core tasks for the Department of State. We must drain the sewer of religious totalitarianism because that is where the bacilli of religious terrorism thrive. Tell our American religious story . America itself, like our consti- tution, is friendly to faith. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians and religious people of virtually every conviction are free to practice and propagate their religious faith in the United States. We are all the more proud of this accomplishment because we did not come by it cheaply. It may sound arrogant, but much of the world could profit from this example. So we diplomats should find culturally appropriate ways to tell the story. America is a place where both law and practice show a better way than reli- gious totalitarianism. Cultivate American missionar- ies. There are good diplomatic rea- sons to get to know American mission- aries in our countries of assignment. For starters, they can be invaluable windows for us into the places we serve. Missionaries in the Philippines took me to a drug treatment facility, a shantytown and a rural development project. In Hong Kong, a missionary took me into the rat’s nest of buildings where SARS later got its local start. As for the war on terror, cultivating local U.S. missionaries can help in three ways. First, we are always more effective as diplomats if we know what is going on around us — and “below” us (where missionaries frequently work). Second, missionaries are a part of our constituency, American citizens that we are bound to protect and serve (whatever their religion). At this time in history they are particularly vulner- able, and the nature of their work ensures that they will remain vulnera- ble. Thus, we need strong, two-way communication with missionaries so that we know what they are doing and they know our security concerns. Third, if it is true (as I believe it is) 16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 S P E A K I N G O U T Web access to major advertisers. Go to www.afsa.org Click on Marketplace tab on the marquee AFSPA www.afspa.org Bukkehave www.bukkehave.com Charles Smith Corp. Living www.smithliving.com Clements International www.clements.com Diplomatic Auto Sales www.diplosales.com Executive Club Suites www.execlubdc.com Feed The Children www.feedthechildren.org Intelsat www.intelsat.com Harry Jannette International www.jannetteintl.com Hirshorn Company, The www.hirshorn.com Lauder Institute www.lauder.wharton.upenn.edu Laughlin Management www.century21laughlin.com Long & Foster www.simunek.com Oakwood www.oakwood.com Prudential Carruthers www.foreignservicehomes.com Remington www.remington-dc.com SDFCU www.sdfcu.org State Plaza www.stateplaza.com WJD Management www.wjdpm.com For more information about advertisers in the Journal go to: www.afsa.org/marketplace MARKETPLACE http://www.nccbuscc.org/seia/ US Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs http://www.icrd.org/ International Center for Religion and Diplomacy http://www.irla.org/ International Religious Association http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf Relief Web http://www.einnews.com/ Breaking news from around the world http://www.amnesty.org/index.html Amnesty International http://www.hrw.org/ Human Rights Watch http://www.Appealofconscience.org Appeal of Conscience Foundation http://www.afpc.org/ American Foreign Policy Council http://www.theirc.org/ International Rescue Committee http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/ State Department— International Religious Freedom http://www.uscirf.gov/ United States Commission on International Religious Freedom http://www.wcrp.org/ World Council on Religion and Peace http://www.cdsee.org/ Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe http://www.iocc.org/ International Orthodox Christian Charities http://www.compassdirect.org/ Compass Direct — tracks religious persecution issues — Phil Skotte Religion and Diplomacy Resources