Abdel Rachid Muhammad, the US army's first ever imam, shared the first day of Ramadan with a handful of soldiers torn between their religion, which forbids most killing, and duty to their country.
"It is very difficult for a Muslim to be here with a weapon. There's no pride in killing," said the 51-year-old religious leader, dressed in the army uniform.
But in a mark of his singularity, Sheikh Muhammad has his name in Arabic sewn onto his shirt pocket -- even though this son of American Baptists who converted at the age of 15 knows only the Arabic of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
In Iraq for the past eight months, the imam said he had really wanted to meet religious Iraqis and "go to Friday prayers in a local mosque", an impossible dream given the problems of security.
"It is very hard to be Muslim and American here," said the father of seven children.
To try to break the isolation felt by the few Muslim soldiers in Camp Cooke, to the north of Baghdad, Sheikh Muhammad has invited 20 to 25 members of the Iraqi security forces to join them each Saturday for "iftar", the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast at sunset.
"Of the 15,000 soldiers in Camp Cooke, some 15 are Muslim, in addition to foreign national workers, mainly Jordanian and Pakistani. About 100 come every Friday to prayer," he said.
The mosque at the camp, a former military base of ousted president Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), is his joy because he sees it as a symbol of entente between Americans and Iraqis.
"An Iraqi brother put up 100 percent of the money to reconstruct the mosque," he said, referring to it by its Iraqi name, Taji, rather than Camp Cooke.
But he is strongly aware of the overwhelming hostility of many Iraqis towards the American army, underlined by attacks on the foreign troops.
"I wouldn't call them mujahedeen (fighters) because they kill Muslims, which is haram, forbidden by the Koran, he said.
"The kamikaze (suicide bombers) are young and vulnerable. Those who mislead them by promising 70 virgins (in paradise) are the emissaries of shaytan (the Devil)," he added.
Commenting on the view that the occupying forces in Iraq are perceived as "Christians" on Muslim soil, he said Iraqis look on all Americans as "infidels".
"I ask my brothers to take a closer look. Eight million to ten million Muslims live in the US," he said.
In an effort to overcome potential misunderstandings by US troops towards Iraqis during Ramadan, he has printed a brochure called "A Guide for Soldiers".
It reminds them that "after sundown, Muslim families will be celebrating the Ramadan with a large meal. It is customary for families from all over to gather and share this meal. Do not be alarmed if you see large groups of people gathering at home".
Against this need for understanding, the imam is well aware that US troops who patrol Baghdad are the target of often-fatal attacks.
"Those (soldiers) who will die in this month and are fasting, they will go through the door of paradise".