Aceh, Jan. 23: For the devout Muslims of Aceh the disaster that has befallen them is a warning from Allah. For some Christians it is a God-given opportunity to convert the heathen.

Mainstream aid groups, even the openly Christian ones, make clear that they have no proselytising mission. Any evangelism is likely to lead to expulsion by the Indonesian authorities, already nervous at the influx of foreigners following the tsunami.

Nevertheless, some foreigners are prepared to run the risk of being caught trying to turn Muslims into Christians.

?I?m not here to do relief work,? said John, a lawyer. He admitted his calling was missionary work. ?They are looking for answers,? he said of the disaster victims, whom he described as particularly good candidates for conversion.

About 300 aid workers, almost half of them foreigners, from various Christian groups have taken over a Banda Aceh hotel in an operation led by Indonesia?s National Prayer Network. Pastor Sukendra Saragih, 44, of the Tabernacle of David Church in Medan and the operation?s co-ordinator, was aware of local sensitivities about conversion.

?We are not coming here to Christianise the people but to share our life with them,? he insisted. ?We don?t tell them directly about Jesus but we show our love through our actions and the people will ask us, ?Why are you so different, why are you being so kind to us?? I answer, ?That?s the way we have been taught?. They ask, ?Who taught you??. And I answer, ?It?s Jesus?.?

Several radical Islamic groups have also arrived in Aceh. ?We watch foreign volunteers? activities,? said Muhammad Rizieq Syihab, the leader of the Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders? Front), which would like a global Islamic state.

?If they are breaking the rules, if they make mistakes, we will warn them, very very smoothly,? he said at his base in a cemetery. ?But I have received many local guests and they tell me that if they get Christians taking Acehnese children and asking them to change religion, they will cut their throats.?