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Posted on Sat, Jul. 29, 2006





Cuba duty gives new outlook to SLO pastor
Chris Molnar of Zion Lutheran Church gains respect for Islam and for simpler living
By Sona Patel
spatel@thetribunenews.com

Zion Lutheran pastor Chris Molnar served for 15 months as the lead chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Tribune photo by Aaron Lambert
Zion Lutheran pastor Chris Molnar served for 15 months as the lead chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

From the closet in his church office, Chris Molnar pulled out a small red prayer rug -- the same kind he saw captured enemy combatants use for their daily prayers at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Molnar, a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo and a 20-year veteran of the California Army National Guard, spent 15 months as a senior chaplain at Guantanamo, ensuring that religious needs for U.S. soldiers and Iraqi and Afghan detainees were met.

The rug is a physical reminder of the spiritual and intellectual insights he took away from his time in Cuba.

"I know a lot more about the religion (Islam) now," he said. "It was a joy to learn about it, and I have more respect for it than I did before I left."

The base in southern Cuba serves as a detainment center for enemy combatants from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Molnar and his team of four chaplains and a Muslim adviser, who also served as an Arabic translator, provided counseling to military personnel and oversaw the religious and dietary needs of detainees, who are mainly Muslim.

Before leaving for Cuba in March 2005, the pastor completed six weeks of chaplain training in Fort Lewis, Wash., where he and other chaplains learned how to provide religious support specifically for detainees.

According to Molnar, in order to better simulate the conditions they would be working under, the Army created a mock-up of Guantanamo Bay. The base was like a Hollywood movie set, he said. Buildings mimicked the naval station while actors played the part of detainees.

"The guards were there, the staff was there and we were kind of playing on what it was like to actually be there," Molnar said. "It's not the real thing, but you have to get some concept of what you do before you get there."

Molnar also needed to learn about Islam, which he did through conversations with Muslims at Guantanamo Bay and extensive reading.

Inside Guantanamo

The base has been under fire recently because human rights organizations have accused military personnel of torturing detainees undergoing interrogation.

Molnar said he didn't observe that.

As a chaplain, he ensured detainees were provided with proper items for their daily prayer sessions, including rugs and Qurans, the Muslim holy book.

There was a call to prayer five times a day over a loudspeaker. Detainees could pray inside their cells or collectively outside.

During early-evening breezes, detainees laid rugs on the dirt. Arrows pointed in the direction of Mecca. They knelt down in their jumpsuits -- orange for the least cooperative and white for the most cooperative.

"They were not treated harshly," he said. "I was not a witness to the interrogations, and I'm sure they were not pleasant. But they (the detainees) were not tortured."

Adjusting to his old life

Three months after his return, Molnar is still adjusting to life back home.

He's moving back into his office, humbled by the simple life he witnessed in Cuba.

Americans need to live in another country, he said, to gain perspective of what life is like elsewhere.

Being apart from his family was the most difficult thing for Molnar, who is almost certain he will be called to active duty again.

Members of his congregation were inspired by his absence to plan a luau upon his return. The event will be held in mid-August at the church and will honor recent veterans, military families and active duty personnel.

"We missed Chris, but this is something he had to do," said church member Joanie Brown. "We are so proud of him."