Abdul Rahman Is Screwed
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Religion, The War On Terrorism, The WorldWhen we liberated Afghanistan, the hope was the new leadership would create a democracy where personal freedoms were respected. And true, their Constitution guarantees religious freedoms, but their judical system doesn’t seem to be respecting that. And in the case of Abdul Rahman, the Muslim who coverted to Christianity and now faces the death penalty, this just shows that the Islamic state that Afghanistan has set up is unforgiving and quite possibly broken. I mean, aren’t these Taliban tactics?
From the NY Times:
KABUL, Afghanistan, March 23 � Despite growing international concern, the judge presiding over the prosecution of an Afghan man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity said today that international pressure would not affect his rulings in the case.Ansarullah Mawlavi Zada, the head of the public security tribunal here in the Afghan capital, said he had received no international pressure to date, but vowed to resist it.
“There is no direct pressure on our court so far, but if it happens we will consider it as an interference,” said Mr. Zada. He added that he expects to rule in the case in the next several days.
I certainly hope that the judge rules in Rahman’s favor, but if Islamic law has dictated that this guy is subject to death for his religious beliefs, I don’t like his chances. Please illuminate me if Islamic law doesn’t state this.
Here’s more on why Rahman’s chances may not be good…
Prosecutors have described Mr. Rahman as a “microbe” and said conversion is illegal under Islamic law. Conservative Afghan religious leaders dominate the country’s courts and prosecutorial offices, but Afghanistan’s American-backed constitution guarantees freedom of religion.The case illustrates the continued tensions between President Karzai, an American-backed religious moderate, and religious hardliners who dominate the country’s courts. Over the last several years conservative judges have threatened to close Afghan television stations that aired material they deemed indecent and charged journalists with publishing material they declared blasphemous.
Listen, Afghanistan is better off without the Taliban, but if a guy can be executed for converting to another religion, then the Islamic state is broken and our strategy on spreading freedom throughout the Islamic world has a fatal flaw, does it not?
Of course…what’s the alternative? And how can we fix this?
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March 24th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Here are a few excerpts from Muslim scriptures known as Hadiths which chronicle the life of Mohammad (pbuh). The Prophet was reported to say the following:
And from the uninterpretable, infallable, Word of God Himself (the Koran 4:89),
March 24th, 2006 at 9:56 am
[...] Though I appreciate the sentiments of Donklephant wherein I found this story, I do not share their perspective entirely as to what we should take from this occurrence, Listen, Afghanistan is better off without the Taliban, but if a guy can be executed for converting to another religion, then the Islamic state is broken and our strategy on spreading freedom throughout the Islamic world has a fatal flaw, does it not? [...]
March 24th, 2006 at 10:02 am
I blogged about the Rahman case yesterday. It covers two new developments that aren’t covered in the original post.
One is that the prosecutors are questioning Mr. Rahman’s mental competence to stand trial. Methinks they may be trying to weasel their way out of this after all, without being seen to cave to international pressure.
The other is that Denmark - yes, that Denmark - has taken a much firmer stance on Mr. Rahman’s behalf than the U.S. They’re even contemplating military action (!!!) by their troops in Afghanistan to spring him from prison. Amazing.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:29 am
I doubt he’ll be executed by the state. That would look very very bad.
But really, we shouldn’t be surprised by this. Democracy is a liberalizing process, but it sure as hell doesn’t take a country from Taliban to Jeffersonian ideal in 4 years, especially not a country with a per capita GDP of $800.
Afghanistan is so poor, your average Mexican who may die trying to get to the U.S. is over ten times richer. This is not fertile soil for ideas like tolerance… but give it time.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Jimmy,
Well, his lawyer is also quoting the Koran, and CAIR as well in his defense.
So, as we Christians say, even the Devil can quote Scripture to serve his purposes.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Dave, I just thought I would “illuminate” as Justin requested. You have illustrated the real problem the West faces when dealing with the Islamic world.
It very well might be the case that most muslims are like “devils” as you say, because they wish to interpret Islamic law the way the earliest muslims did in the 7th century. I hope not, but if that is indeed the case, then we are ALL screwed, not just this poor Abdul Rahman dude.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:43 am
The thoughts are appreciated, but what does this mean for our chances of spreading any type of real democracy that will be sympathetic to our goals? It doesn’t seem likely right now, with top “moderate” clerics who opposed the Taliban calling for this guy’s death.
Absolutely crazy stuff here, and it’s really making me speculate that there has to be a big time reformation within Islam itself, before anything will ever truly change. And the US isn’t going to be the catalyst with war after war. That’ll just embolden people to stick to these idiotic beliefs.
March 24th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
My hope all along was that the liberation of women in the Islamic world (through projects like Iraq & Afghanistan) would make a big difference. If each woman is given equal political power to each man in Islamic society, and civil authority must court votes to get elected and run the show, perhaps moderation will enter Islamic societies the was has in Turkey. No matter how devoutly religious Muslim women claim to be, trust me, no one likes to be dressed up like a garbage bag.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Ahh Jimmy. I can always count on you to break it down with complete illogic.