The abducted are pacifists, and the organization is called Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Their method of protest is ??getting in the way? in various situations. Hopefully, those that are holding them will release them unscathed to gain support.

I??m not big on ??conspiracy? theories, but it??s possible that the whole thing is a publicity stunt to get sympathy for their captors.

They blame the U.S. and the U.K. for the abduction:
??We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the U.S. government. We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of U.S. forces, long before the western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib. We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates.?
http://www.cpt.org/