In “Anger over Christian convert in Kabul who faces death” from the TimesOnline (thanks to Sr. Soph), one “human rights expert” notes that the Afghan Constitution refers to the authority of Sharia, but it also mentions the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Now it is beginning to dawn on some of the learned analysts which one trumps which.
Meanwhile, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who leads the Church of England’s dialogue with Islam, is “amazed” that this could be happening. Is this what our troops are in Afghanistan to protect? Good question. Excellent question.
ABDUL RAHMAN, a 41-year-old Afghan, was a Muslim for 25 years before he began working for an international Christian group helping his fellow countrymen in Pakistan. Within a couple of years he had converted to Christianity.
Fourteen years later, the decision may cost him his life….
Mr Rahman’s case is shaping up as a trial of strength between Afghanistan’s religious conservatives and reformers. “The constitution says Islam is the religion of Afghanistan, yet it also mentions the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 18 specifically forbids this kind of recourse,” one human rights expert said in Kabul last night. “It really highlights the problem the judiciary faces.”
News of his plight is likely to cause outrage in predominantly Christian countries such as Britain and America, whose troops are fighting to free Afghanistan from the religious zealotry of the Taleban.
The Bishop of Rochester, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who leads the Church of England’s dialogue with Islam, told The Times: “I”m amazed that the constitution that has been agreed in post-Taleban Aghanistan under the very eyes of the international community should allow this kind of thing to take place “” for a person to be arrested for having been converted 14 years ago and to be threatened with execution simply for his beliefs.
“The British Army in Afghanistan is losing soldiers there through injury and death. Is the Army there to uphold this kind of thing? I thought we were there to promote democracy and freedom.”
Alan Simpson, Labour MP for Nottingham South, told The Times: “We are asked to believe that in Afghanistan we are defending a more secular and democratic state when in fact the likes of Abdul Rahman face the death penalty. What sort of democracy are we defending? All reports suggest that the Taleban are coming in through the back door and their views through the front door. Hamid Karzai (the Afghan President) needs to be told that this absurdity must stop.”
Indeed he does. Who will have the guts to tell him that? Why has this happened in the first place? Because no one in Washington was all that concerned about the Sharia provision in the Afghan Constitution. After all, Islam is a religion of peace! And the learned analysts were falling all over themselves to assure them that Sharia was nothing to worry about.
Now people are beginning to see why it was a matter of concern after all.