But not before “the Home Office said he would be able to practise his faith if he found like-minded Christians in Kabul and ‘kept his head down’.” You know, like a good dhimmi. At least, in this case, the Home Office was overruled, and the plight of non-Muslims and apostates from Islam in Islamic societies gained a modicum of official recognition.
“Afghan asylum seeker wins right to stay in Britain after converting to Christianity,” from the Daily Mail, November 17 (thanks to Rob):
An Afghan asylum seeker who converted to Christianity after arriving in Britain has won the right to stay in the country because of fears he could be executed if returned home.
In a landmark case, the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, used human rights rules to overturn a previous Home Office decision to refuse him asylum.
Lawyers said there were fears that, as an apostate – one who rejects the Muslim religion – the man, originally from Mazar-i-Sharif, but now living in Hounslow, west London, would face persecution, or even death, on his return.
The former Kabul hotel worker had arrived in the UK as a Muslim, but converted to Christianity, was baptised and now regularly attends a west London church and bible class.
But his conversion had met with hostility from other Afghans and Muslims, who spat at him in the street when rumours spread, the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Tribunal was told.
He was even threatened with death by two Afghans with whom he had shared a house in London and warned by others that he would be killed if he went back to Afghanistan.
Although the Afghan Constitution allows non-Muslims to practise their faith, the small Christian community practises exclusively underground and it is forbidden for Afghans to abandon Islam.
To avoid detection if sent back to war-torn Afghanistan, he would have to find an underground network of other Christians to worship with and keep his beliefs from everyone else.
The man who arrived on a hijacked jet would spend his life ‘looking over his shoulder’ in case he was recognised and could expect no protection from the Afghan government, his lawyers told immigration judges.
Contesting the man’s appeal, the Home Office said he would be able to practise his faith if he found like-minded Christians in Kabul and ‘kept his head down’.
But, giving the tribunal decision, Senior Immigration Judge Nichols said it was not reasonable to expect someone to live and worship in such circumstances.
Although the Afghan Constitution made no mention of what should happen to apostates, Sharia Law demanded the death penalty, he said […]
‘He faces a real risk of, at the very least, detention because of his religion and, at worst, trial before a Sharia Court and harsh punishment unless the appellant recanted his conversion.
The next step would be to recognize that this aspect of Sharia comes from Muhammad’s own orders: “if anyone changes his religion, kill him (Bukhari 9.84.57) — hence its persistence.