This morning I read disturbing news about an Afghan that converted to Christianity and now might be facing the death penalty for choosing a religion different from Islam.
A man could be sentenced to death after being charged with converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under Afghanistan’s shariah laws, a judge said yesterday. The trial is thought to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam will take four years after the fall of the Taliban.
Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told Associated Press. The accused was charged with rejecting Islam. During the one-day hearing on Thursday, the defendant allegedly confessed to converting to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Judge Mawlavezada said. Source: [The Guardian]
What’s really disturbing about all this, in my opinion, is that this is happening in the supposedly post-Taliban era. It is no secret that those that covert to Christianity in the Arab and the Muslim world get harassed, but to be threatened with death is really horrendous.
Sadly enough, Jordan is another country where converts to Christianity will not only be ostracized, but will be also harassed by the authorities. To be fair, anyone changing religion in Jordan, whether from Islam to Christianity or vise versa, faces social ostracization. The difference, though, is that in the case of converting to Christianity one can expect to spend some time behind bars as was the case with a Jordanian couple I blogged about last year.
Ask Samer and Abeer. Last September Jordanian security police connected to the country’s Mukhabarat, or intelligence agency, showed up at the couple’s home unannounced. They arrested Samer and detained him overnight. Samer’s crime: coming to faith in Jesus Christ 14 years ago. Originally a Muslim, Samer over the years since his conversion has been questioned several times by security police but never detained. This time, the police turned him over to the Islamic courts. The judges convicted Samer of apostasy. In a Nov. 23 decision the court decreed that his identification papers must be changed from "Muslim" to "no religion;" that he had forfeited any inheritance; that his marriage to Abeer is now illegal and therefore he is not entitled to custody of his son.
The US State Department 2005 report on religious freedom in Jordan also mentions this issue :
Members of unrecognized religious groups and converts from Islam face legal discrimination and bureaucratic difficulties in personal status cases. Converts from Islam additionally risk the loss of civil rights. There is no statute that expressly forbids proselytizing Muslims. However, Shari’a courts have the authority to prosecute proselytizers.
I’m fully aware that this topic is very controversial so I’m not going to say much besides reiterating what I said last year: In my humble, unbiased opinion I think that if Jordan intends to tread on a truly democratic path, then its citizens should be given the basic right of practicing a religion of their own choosing.
Why is this topic controversial? Only because it concerns Islam. Otherwise it would be a ‘no brainer’ affecting at most the people and families involved.
Islam, however, cannot tolerate either freedom of conscience or freedom of speech. That is a problem that will not go away, and that means trouble – big trouble – in the future for all of us. When I look at Islam I see hate and anger, and I do not see any possibilty of change. Where it dominates, Islam oppresses women, other religions, gays, jews, and even other Muslim sects.
The cartoon issue and the case of the afhgan convert demonstrate this clearly. I feel sorry for you young people, because bad times are coming. I have no problem with many Muslims individually, but I dislike Islam and I certainly don’t respect Islam’s great prophet.
I have read the hadiths, and it is not a pretty picture. The life of Mohammed is not a very nice story – it is filled with horrible deeds. I won’t go into detail but you can be sure I known what I’m talking about. If I cannot criticize certain things Mohammed did, then there can be no hope of avoiding a conflict, at least with this old man. If Muslims consider Islam’s prophet to be a great moral example, there can be no hope of harmony as far as I’m concerned. The only possible excuse is that Muslims know less about the life and actions of their dear prophet than I, and I find that hard to believe.
I really don’t think there is any chance of avoiding a major conflict, in 5 to 10 years (not counting the minor riots). At best we can be honest, brutally honest, about these issues. What will probably happen is that right wing parties in Europe arise and they will match Islamic hate with Western hate, angry word for angry word, blood for blood, murder for murder. A lot of innocent people will get hurt. Who is to blame? People who are not honest, people who are afraid to listen to things they don’t want to hear, and people who are afraid to say the things that need to be said.
Sorry about this post. It is not nice but it is necessary. You people take care, think about these things, enjoy life, and hope I am wrong. I will not get mad if I’m wrong.
John Kactuz
The death penalty should be abolished at all costs. Nations that still retain it do not deserve any legitimacy.
Slash
Thanks, I apprciate your comments. You have gained my respect by admitting the truth.
Peace
Fadi
Fadi: Im sorry to hear about your experiences…. its sad. I really dont have much to say.
You are right. It was the Canaanites who owned the land initially and the Israelites invaded and occupied it because they felt they were pagan worshippers. Quite an idiotic thing to do by todays standards: who is pagan and who is not very subjective and no one has the right to judge another persons beliefs and religion. We do have these discussions many times regarding land possesion issues and in some ways I too am affected by these – and when you give it a great deal of thought it becomes clear that looking at the past is not a wise thing to do. Because if we do then where do we stop? For example even the Canaanites appeared some time in history replacing the original inhabitants of that land – and if one interpolates you need to look at our prehistoric ancestors and see which hunting pack of Neanderthals occupied that land. If you go beyond that we need to check which colony of bacteria occupied which pond and so on !!
The past is not the basis and can never be. Its the present – where we live in and the future, that counts and an amicable settlement has to be arrived at… easier said than done though ! Perhaps we havent really evolved yet… sadly our hunting pack mentality still dominates !
Jen
Your very own Pat Robertson made the comment amongst others that Bush told them that God told him to invade Iraq. Ofcourse the White House denied it. Surprise surprise.
And you don’t need to tell me about my faith because I choose to use my faith to make peace not war.
Cheers
Fadi
Mathew
Thanks for your comments.
Slash
On the issue of Palestine/Israel. Read any boook you want including your Tora, it tells you that the Cannanites are the original inhabitants of the land, after all it is the land of Canaan. And the Palestinians are the direct decendants of Canaan.
Regardless of what you believe, my own family’s home was demolished by the Jews in 1948 and my family was left homeless. We’ve come a long way since then, however, we will never forget, we forgive but we will not forget. And I assure that Justice will come at the end for the Palestinians.
I would like to assure all of you that the peace of the world depends on the peace of Jerusalem. That is peace that is based on JUSTICE. Not Israel torturing humans, demloshing homes, practicing policies of ethnic cleansing, that has gone on long enough. The world should learn by now that the Palestinians will never go away. Its our land we love it too much to let go. The Israelis must come to the conclusion that they have to coexist with the Palestinians and stop their terrorism against us.
I would like to also point out that just because violence is committed by a government or a country that doesn’t make it legit, and that is the worse type of terrorism.
I don’t blame the West for everything, but Yes I do blame the UK originally for the loss of our land to the Jews, and now I do blame the US for the suffering of the Palestinians. Look at how much of US tax money goes for military Israeli programs and home demolishons.
Lets stop fooling ourselves and try to make peace not spread more hatered.
I suggest check out the following websites for education: http://www.adc.org and http://www.aaiusa.org
Cheers
Fadi
Slash,
Where did Fadi blame the West for everything? And since when has he become an Islamic apologist? I suggest you not jump to conclusions. The Isreal/Palestinan issue is not as simple as Jews lived here for thousands of years..so everything is fine and everything that Isreal does is legit (discolsure..I am actually a supporter of the state of Israel…so Fadi and I probally disagree on this, but that does not mean the state of Isreal is above rebuke). I do believe there is a lack of understanding amoungst all different cultures and beliefs. It does no one any good to fall back into our tribal mindset of us against them. Islam is not the enemy. It is the ignorance of these ideas of not accepting others into the fold. Intolerance has been a plague on humanity since the beginning of time. It did not begin with Islam. It exists in every culture and every country (including America). And to play the “well its worse in Islam” is a lazy argument and counterproductive. Does it matter who killed more people Mao or Stalin…does it really matter their country? It was an injustice and a crime..therefore it should be condemmed and should be allowed to be used as a tool of dividing people. this execution for apostacy is not supported by the Muslim masses. And progres or change does not happen overnight (that is not an excuse… just human nature)….we don’t wake up one day and change our thoughts…it happens over time…unfortunately…it took our country far too long to accept everyone as equal under the law……so let us work togther to object to human right absues such as this and not let extermists frame this issue as clash of the civilizations