We all heard about Abdul Rahman, the Afghan who converted to Christianity, went to prison, and finally find refuge in Italy. Now let's look what Afghan bloggers say about it:
Afghan Lord talks about Abdul Rahman's background. He says:
“Abdul Rahman lived for a long time in Pakistan and was known in the past as a fundamentalist. He had worked for Mudjaheedin and had fought against the Soviet Union….This makes clear for people that he was an active member of Jamiat Islami party which was lead by Ahmadshah Masood, a warlord (The warlord who destroyed the Kabul city vastly). Assassinated by a suspected terrorist just a week before September 11, 2001. In recent years Abdul Rahman was living in Germany, but was deported last year after his asylum seeking was rejected. Abdul Rahman went out of the country but now caused a big tension in the country which can not be stopped soon very easily.”
Safrang , a US-based Afghan blogger, talks about his talk with Guantamo's former Moslem Chaplain, Mr. James Yee, and asked him about apostasy in Islam. According to Chaplain:
“In the early days of Islam, when apostasy was made a crime punishable by death, it was not simply to execute those who abandoned Islam for their change of belief.”
The blogger continues, saying about the historical reasons for apostasy being a crime,
This is the sort of thing that I have not often read in the news in relation to the apostasy case in Afghanistan. This is the sort of thing that people in the West have to pay attention to as much as the clerics and judges ruling on this case.
1 comment
I would like to inform readers of this site about a report on Afghanistan I have just written for the Council on Foreign Relations. It is called “Afghanistan’s Uncertain Transition from Turmoil to Normalcy” and can be found at http://cfr.org/publication/10273/. The report argues that while the country now has political institutions, the changes that have taken place are not yet sustainable. Implementing the Afghanistan Compact will require changes in Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors, the behavior of its government, how donors give aid, and how the US and NATO pursue their military and security objectives. It echoes a lot of the concerns expressed by participants here. I would welcome any comments.