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:

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.