Magic Statistics

Binks is the go-to guy at CaNN. Save Abdul Rahman!

This afternoon it has been reported that Prime Minister Harper telephoned Afghan President Karzai about the prosecution of Abdul Rahman and heard some reassuring words.

"President Karzai listened to my concerns and we had a productive and informative exchange of views," Harper said in a written statement. "Upon the conclusion of the call, he assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case."

One certainly hopes that Mr Rahman's human and religious rights are sustained, but I'm not sure it would be wise to declare victory in this struggle just yet–especially if the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has any say in the outcome of Mr Rahman's case.

Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which is interpreted by many Muslims to require that any Muslim who rejects Islam be sentenced to death. The state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has called for Rahman to be punished, arguing he clearly violated Islamic law.

It doesn't sound like that commission is quite up to speed on the whole concept of human rights.

Yahoo news link via little green footballs.

In what may be an attempt to avoid a potentially disastrous international outrage, Afghan prosecutors suggested that Abdul Rahman, the man charged with the capital crime of "apostasy" from Islam, may not be mentally fit to stand trial.

Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. His trial started last week and he confessed to becoming a Christian 16 years ago. If convicted, he could be executed.

But prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said questions have been raised about his mental fitness. "We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," he told The Associated Press.

Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai, said Rahman would undergo a psychological examination. "Doctors must examine him," he said. "If he is mentally unfit, definitely Islam has no claim to punish him. He must be forgiven. The case must be dropped."

It was not immediately clear when he would be examined or when the trial would resume. Authorities have barred attempts by the AP to see Rahman and he is not believed to have a lawyer.

There are indications that international outcry in support of Mr Rahman is worrying the Afghan government, and that this may be behind the investigation of his mental state.

A Western diplomat in Kabul and a human rights advocate — both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter — said the government was desperately searching for a way to drop the case because of the reaction it has caused.

So, keep up the pressure! Canadians, write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Afghanistan Embassy in Ottawa. (Contact information at the bottom of this post.) This claim by prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari caught my attention: "He doesn’t talk like a normal person". That raises the question: How do "normal" Afghans talk? Many examples have been reported in the past few days, and they're not pretty:

• "We are Muslims and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty." (Prosecutor Abdul Wasi)
• "The Attorney General is emphasising he should be hung. It is a crime to convert to Christianity from Islam." (Judge Alhaj Ansarullah Mawlawy Zada, who may be presiding at the trial)
• "For 30 years, we have fought religious wars in this country and there is no way we are going to allow an Afghan to insult us by becoming Christian." (Mohammed Jan of Kabul)
• "We will cut him into little pieces" (Hosnia Wafayosofi, who works at the jail where Mr Rahman is being held)

I take it those folks are considered sane by Afghan authorities. What words have come from the mouth of alleged crazy man Abdul Rahman that caused the prosecutor to label him "mad"? Here's what he said on this video:

Being hanged to death! I accept it, yes I do, but I am not an infidel as I am branded and I am not an apostate. I am a Jesus Follower (Christian).

At the same site is this excerpt from a recent interview with Mr Rahman broadcast on Afghan television:

He was questioned, "Do you confess that you have apostacized from Islam?"
He responded, "No, I am not an apostate, I believe in God."
Question: "Do you believe in the Koran?"
Response: "I believe in the Injil (New Testament) and love Jesus Christ."

Thank God for Abdul Rahman's faithful witness!

In the video, he appears quite rational, articulate, and in control of his faculties. Are Christian confessions ipso facto evidence of madness in Muslim Afghanistan? If so, the government may be setting itself up for a Catch-22 in which the laws against leaving Islam will be rendered without effect. Afghan law says that anyone who renounces Islam must be put to death. But anyone who renounces Islam is mad and therewith unfit to stand trial. Indeed, says President Karzai's religious advisor Moayuddin Baluch, such a person "must be forgiven". That would be the sane thing to do.

USA Today link via Midwest Conservative Journal.
Video link via Michelle Malkin.

Abdul Rahman was apparently the first person arrested and put on trial for apostasy in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, but already he is not the last. The international furor over Mr Rahman's prosecution has goaded Islamic militants to attack and harass other Afghan Christians.

During the past few days, Compass has confirmed the arrest of two other Afghan Christians elsewhere in the country. Because of the sensitive situation, local sources requested that the location of the jailed converts be withheld.

This past weekend, one young Afghan convert to Christianity was beaten severely outside his home by a group of six men, who finally knocked him unconscious with a hard blow to his temple. He woke up in the hospital two hours later but was discharged before morning.

“Our brother remains steadfast, despite the ostracism and beatings,” one of his friends said.

Several other Afghan Christians have been subjected to police raids on their homes and places of work in the past month, as well as to telephone threats.

via Persecuted Church Weblog.

See also Afghanistan's Secret Christians, via Michelle Malkin.

Naser Khadar, political spokesman on foreign affairs of the Radikale Venstre party, has called on Denmark to demonstrate that it is serious about human rights in Afghanistan. The Danish government should offer Abdul Rahman asylum; if necessary, Danish forces now serving in Afghanistan should liberate him. Radikale Venstre is a small left-centre party and hitherto supporter of political correctness. Naser Khadar is one of those apparently rare creatures: a moderate, pro-democracy Muslim. He’ll probably earn a fatwa for advocating military intervention to save Mr Rahman.

Other Danish political parties have spoken up for radical action in Afghanistan. Søren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for the right-wing Dansk Folkeparti has threatened Afghan President Karzai:

”I could not care less about the country's laws and rules. In a certain manner we are an authority in Afghanistan, and the President must avoid an execution, or we promise trouble. If not the Americans, English and Danes were in the country, President Hamid Karzai would within 5 minutes lie maltreated by a road side.”

Another Danish party is urging the government to take a stand. The leader of Socialistisk Folkeparti, Villy Søvndal has said that, if Mr Rahman is executed, Danish soldiers should be brought home.

So, what’s the response of Venstre, Denmark’s governing party, to all those pleas for commitment and firm resolve in defence of religious freedom? It’s taking a wait-and-see attitude.

This post is based on an article in the now-world-famous Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, which was translated and posted at Infidel Bloggers Alliance.