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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06030137.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Thursday, March 23, 2006

CLERICS CALL FOR CHRISTIAN CONVERT'S DEATH DESPITE WESTERN OUTRAGE; PRESSURE MOUNTS FOR WAY OUT ON CHRISTIAN CONVERT IN AFGHANISTAN
U.S. Backs Afghan Man Who Converted to Christianity, Christian Convert in Afghanistan Could be Unfit to Stand Trial

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) -- Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity must be executed and if the government caves into Western pressure and frees him they will incite people to "pull him into pieces."
Meanwhile pressure is mounting on President Bush to intervene from Conservative Christians in the United States concerned about the man's fate, and the convert may undergo psychological testing to determine if he is fit to stand trial.

According to an Associated Press (AP) story running on Fox News, the trial of Abdul Rahman has fired passions in the conservative Muslim nation and highlighted a conflict of values between Afghanistan and its Western backers.

"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate and was jailed three times for opposing the Taliban before the hardline regime was ousted in 2001.

Fox News, running the AP story, says Rahman, a 41-year old former medical aid worker, faces the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for becoming a Christian. His trial, which began last week, has caused an international outcry. U.S. President George W. Bush has said he is "deeply troubled" by the case and expects the country to "honor the universal principle of freedom."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that she received assurances from Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call that Rahman would not be sentenced to death.

"I have the impression that he (Karzai) has a firm willingness" to abide by the human rights requirements and "I hope we will be able to resolve this," Merkel said going into pre-EU summit talks.

Fox News says diplomats have said the Afghan government was searching for a way to drop the case, and on Wednesday authorities said Rahman is suspected of being mentally ill and would undergo psychological examinations to see whether he is fit to stand trial.

But three Sunni preachers and a Shiite one interviewed by The Associated Press in four of Kabul's most popular mosques said they don't believe Rahman is insane.

"He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian," said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque.

"The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed."

Raoulf, who is a member of the country's main Islamic organization, the Afghan Ulama Council, agreed, saying, "The government are playing games. The people will not be fooled."

"Cut off his head!" he exclaimed, sitting in a courtyard outside Herati Mosque. "We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there's nothing left."

He said the only way for Rahman to survive would be for him to go into exile outside Afghanistan. But Said Mirhossain Nasri, the top cleric at Hossainia Mosque, one of the largest Shiite places of worship in Kabul, said Rahman must not be allowed to leave the country.

"If he is allowed to live in the West then others will claim to be Christian so they can too," he said. "We must set an example...He must be hanged."

The clerics said they were angry with the United States and other countries for pushing for Rahman's freedom. "We are a small country and we welcome the help the outside world is giving us, but please don't interfere in this issue," Nasri said. "We are Muslims and these are our beliefs. This is much more important to us than all the aid the world has given us."

The AP story explains that 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.

Hamidullah warned that if the government frees Rahman, "There will be an uprising" like one against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s.

"The government will lose the support of the people," he said. "What sort of democracy would it be if the government ignored the will of all the people."

Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty International issued a statement, saying that if Rahman has been detained solely for his religious beliefs, he would be a "prisoner of conscience."

"The charges against him should be dropped and if necessary he should be protected against any abuses within the community," the London-based group said.

It was not immediately clear when Rahman's trial will resume. Authorities have barred attempts by the AP to see him and he is not believed to have a lawyer.

PRESSURE MOUNTS FOR WAY OUT ON CHRISTIAN CONVERT IN AFGHANISTAN

Fox News reports that initially, the case of convert Abdul Rahman attracted the attention of Christian groups, then it reached the radar of the State Department. Now, President Bush has weighed in on the case, saying he is "deeply troubled" that the Afghan man could face death for his religious decision.

Rahman, 41, a medical worker, converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago, a fact that came out publicly during a civil custody case between him and his wife in front of local authorities. The authorities charged him with rejecting Islam, a crime under the country's Shar'ia-based law. The penalty, if guilty, is death.

Fox News says that this is a penalty that concerns Bush, who said in a speech Wednesday that the young democracy in Afghanistan shouldn't be limiting the ability of its citizens to worship.

"We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom," Bush said during a town hall meeting in Wheeling, West Virginia. "It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another.

"I'm troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That's not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship," he continued.

Fox News also reported that in n a statement to the press on Wednesday, the Embassy of Afghanistan said it "greatly appreciates public concern" about Rahman, and the government is looking into the best way to resolve the case through the judiciary.

"It is too early to draw any conclusion about the punishment, and we appreciate public understanding of the sensitivity of religious issues...The constitution of Afghanistan provides protection for freedom of religion. The government of Afghanistan will ensure that the constitutional rights of its citizens, international principles, and the due judicial process are respected and implemented," the embassy statement said.

Rahman's trial started last week. On Wednesday, a state prosecutor developed the unique position of asserting insanity in Rahman's defense.

An official said Rahman may be "mad," and "he doesn't talk like a normal person."

Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai, said Rahman would undergo a psychological examination and if he's found mentally unfit, he will have to be let go. However, in a recent court appearance, the defendant appeared entirely cogent as he thumbed through his translated Bible and testified once more to his faith.

"I believe in Christianity. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I am a Christian," Rahman said.

The AP report carried on Fox News states that at the State Department on Tuesday, Afghanistan's outgoing Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said in a press conference that the Afghan government has "nothing to do with" the prosecution. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who also participated in the news conference, underscored that people should be free to choose their own religion without penalty.

The continued prosecution of Rahman could cause major problems for Afghanistan. Both Germany and Italy, which have a combined force of 4,500 NATO troops patrolling Afghanistan, have expressed concern about Rahman's fate.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that even if the case were dismissed, that doesn't resolve the issue. McCormack said the fundamental problem is that an individual could be tried in the first place for converting.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said on Wednesday that Afghanistan needs to release Rahman. The group cited verses in the Quran to explain how it's wrong to persecute someone for choosing a different religion than Islam.

"Religious decisions should be matters of personal choice, not a cause for state intervention. Faith imposed by force is not true belief, but coercion. Islam has no need to compel belief in its divine truth. As the Quran states: 'Truth stands out clear from error. Therefore, whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks,' " according to a statement released by the group.

On Wednesday, an early champion of Rahman lamented that his predicament is hardly unique.

"This happens in Saudi Arabia, this happens in Pakistan — a number of Islamic countries. And, you know, this needs to be spoken against," said Jeff King, president of the International Christian Concern.

U.S. BACKS AFGHAN CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY

In Washington, the Bush administration issued a subdued appeal Tuesday to Afghanistan to permit Rahman to practice his faith in the predominantly Muslim country.

The State Department, however, did not urge the U.S. ally in the war against terrorism to terminate the trial. Officials said the Bush administration did not want to interfere with Afghanistan's sovereignty.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and department spokesman Sean McCormack asked Afghanistan to conduct the trial "in a transparent way." Burns said he told Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, with whom he held talks at the department, that "we would follow the case closely."

At a joint news conference, pressed by reporters, Abdullah said he hoped "through our constitutional process there will be a satisfactory result." He did not say whether the defendant, Abdul Rahman, 41, would be found innocent.

Abdullah said officials of his government "know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people." He said the Afghan Embassy in Washington had received hundreds of messages of concern.

CONVERT COULD BE RULED UNFIT TO STAND TRIAL

Questions have arisen, however, about whether Rahman may be mentally unfit to stand trial, a state prosecutor said Wednesday. 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."

Fox News said 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.

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.

The United States, Britain and other countries that have troops in Afghanistan have voiced concern about Rahman's fate.

The Bush administration's subdued appeal to Kabul to let Rahman practice his faith in safety was also supported by German Roman Catholic Cardinal Karl Lehmann who said the trial sent an "alarming signal" about freedom of worship in Afghanistan.

The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take there four years after the ouster of the fundamentalist Taliban regime.

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.

The case has received widespread attention in Afghanistan where many people are demanding Rahman be severely punished.

"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," said Mohammed Jan, 38, who lives opposite Rahman's father, Abdul Manan, in Kabul. "This has brought so much shame."

Rahman is believed to have converted from Islam to Christianity while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. He then moved to Germany for nine years before returning to Kabul in 2002, after the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime.

Police arrested him last month after discovering him in possession of a Bible during questioning over a dispute for custody of his two daughters. Prosecutors have offered to drop the charges if Rahman converts back to Islam, but he has refused.

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.