The Afghan Constitution guarantees religious freedom within the bounds of Sharia. A few years ago Abdul Rahman, a convert from Islam to Christianity, was put on trial for his life for apostasy — so as to show bemused Westerners what “religious freedom within the bounds of Sharia” really means. And now this. “2 Christian aid groups suspended in Afghanistan,” by Rohan Sullivan for Associated Press, May 31 (thanks to JCB):
KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan authorities suspended two Christian foreign aid groups Monday on suspicion of proselytizing in the strictly Islamic nation and said a follow-up investigation would include whether other groups were trying to convert Muslims.
U.S.-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid will not be allowed to operate while the allegations, aired Sunday on Afghan television, are investigated, said Mohammad Hashim Mayar, the deputy director of the Afghan government office that oversees nongovernment organizations, known as NGOs….
Proselytizing is illegal in Afghanistan, as it is in many Muslim countries. It is a hot-button issue for many Afghans sensitive to the influence of the scores of foreign aid groups operating in the country to help it recover from decades of war.
The television report, which interviewed local police saying they had heard rumors of the charities’ proselytizing, triggered a demonstration by several hundred students at Kabul University on Monday.
The group shouted deaths threats toward foreigners who seek to convert Muslims and demanded that the government expel anyone who tried, said Mohammad Najib, a professor at the school who witnessed the protest.
The group blocked the road outside the university’s main gate for more than an hour before the demonstrators moved off peacefully, Najib said. Police stood by but did not intervene.…