South Koreans turn to Islam while in Iraq

Command of the South Korean troops informed of a growing number of troops who adopted Islam.

37 South Korean soldiers became Muslim recently. A total of 51 soldiers attend mosques regularly. According to the commander, all of the soldiers were atheists before coming to Iraq, reports ITAR-TASS.

Their road to Islam “began relatively long time ago after reading the Koran; the reading helped them to grasp the essence of the religion.” Those who return back to their hometown in South Korea express their wish “to return to Iraq”; also they would like “locals to understand that they came with purely humanitarian mission and will abide by the laws of the religion.”

South Korean army leadership does not openly oppose such new trend of South Korean troops; however, they do not wholeheartedly welcome their decisions either.

One of the officers stated the following: “We hope that their understanding of the Iraqi culture will be advantageous to the overall progress of rebuilding this Middle Eastern country.” Seoul plans to send up to 3,600 of its soldiers and officers to North Iraq this summer. Currently, nearly 460 South Korean engineers and medics work in the Persian Gulf zone.