Abdul Rahman was released from jail in Afghanistan and quickly went into hiding. He has since fled to Italy. His release was condemned by protestors in Kabul and the elected representatives of the Afghan people.

Members of the Afghan parliament condemned the release of a man who denied Islam, insisting on Wednesday he should not be allowed to leave the country, as Italy appeared ready to offer him asylum.
. . .
"The release of Abdur [sic] Rahman was contrary to the existing laws of Afghanistan," Yunus Qanuni, president of the lower house of parliament, told the assembly during an unscheduled debate on the case.

"Abdur [sic] Rahman should not flee and should not be allowed to leave Afghanistan … he should be kept under supervision," he said.

Yesterday Mr Rahman arrived safely in Italy, where he has received asylum.

Abdul Rahman arrived in Rome days after he was freed from a high-security prison on the outskirts of Kabul after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness.
. . .
It [the case] also inspired an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and efforts by the United Nations to find a country to take him in after Muslim clerics in Afghanistan threatened his life, saying his conversion was a "betrayal to Islam."

Rahman was in the care of Italy's Interior Ministry, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday evening. "He is already in Italy," he said. "I think he arrived overnight."

The premier declined to release more details. The Interior Ministry said Rahman was "under protection."

Thank God for Abdul Rahman’s release, escape, and safe landing in Italy. Thanks also for those Western leaders who interceded on his behalf, especially Canada’s own Stephen Harper. (It’s been far too long since my country has had such a prime minister.)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will have to increase his personal security measures. A lot of his own people are very angry that he allowed Mr Rahman to be freed and then to flee the country. In apparent retaliation for the unfavourable international attention given to Mr Rahman’s plight, many more Afghan Christians have been arrested in recent days. Persecution and harassment have increased.

The threat of death hangs over the heads of all Afghan Christians, of whom US-based groups say there may be as many as 10,000, meeting secretly in houses for prayer and bible study, and living in fear of their lives. Under Afghanistan’s strict Islamic law conversion to another religion is a capital offense and Muslim leaders have been calling for Rahman’s execution and threatening to kill him.
. . .
When the announcement of Rahman’s release was made public, demonstrations broke out in which protesters chanted, “Death to Christians” among the anti-Bush and anti-American slogans.

It is good to hear that there may be 10,000 Christians in Afghanistan. I hope that Abdul Rahman’s faithful and fearless witness in the face of death threats will lead many more Muslims to inquire into the basis for the hope that is in him.  I also hope that international publicity directed against Islamic anti-“apostasy” laws will continue unabated.

One paradoxical result of this international incident may be to give added energy to the anti-war movement in the West. My initial reaction when I first heard of Abdul Rahman’s arrest and trial was: Why are Canadian soldiers protecting the people of Afghanistan if this is how they treat religious converts? I suspect that many Canadians who formerly supported our humanitarian mission over there are asking themselves the same question.

Sydney Morning Herald via Dhimmi Watch.
Norman Transcript via Jihad Watch.
NovoPress via Michelle Malkin.

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