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.
As a Dane I’m completely shocked.
How on earth can this be considered a controversial issue?
This is down right illegal and must be stopped immediately at all cost.
I’m astonished to see how carefully Natasha goes about this subject but she is of course living in a Muslim country and she has to be careful about what she says.
Islam seems to be its own biggest enemy as no criticism, real debate and development is allowed – hence its inability to exist in a modern democracy with free speech.
Well I do agree that this is not an issue of Islan vs. Christianity, although there will be people from both extremist sides trying to frame it that way…as they always do. First let me preface my comment with a disclosure that I am an American who is a Christian. I lived in Turkey for 3 years and am engaged to a Turkish Muslim. Now I would venture to guess that an absolute majority of Muslims are against the penalty for apostacy, but somewhere along the lines we have all failed at communicating along racial/cultural/religious lines and there grows a misunderstanding and a lack of trust on both sides..which extremists exploit (on both sides)…..as a personal experience I have nothing but good experiences….whether it was living in Konya or the more liberal Istanbul…I never had any problems living there as an American or Christian……obvioulsy that is not the case everywhere as prejudice continues in almost every society. So yes I agree that this is a freedom issue and a human right issue for all of us….a person should be free to choose whether a Christian or muslim…just as he should be free to Choose whether a sunni or alevi..this debate should not be exploited by those who wish to further the chasm between all of us. So when these injustices are done as with the beheadngs of the school girls in Indonesia, I will continue to speak out against them. Just as I will about the honore killings of Palestinain Christian families or rasicm or Islamophobia arises. And I will continue to celebrate my relationships with the Muslims that are around me. To me what makes this a great world..is our differences….let us keep speaking out about injustices togther and fight against those who wish to divide us.
Okay, can I just point out the fact that there are many different people in many different religions. Some people are extremely radical and others not so much. There is good and bad in every religion (as well as any other kind of organization). There are those who believe that their way is the only way, while others accept people for who they are. For example, a man who called himself a Catholic went into an abortion clinic and killed everyone in there because he felt that abortion was wrong and evil. Make sense to anyone? Yet, I know many Catholics who are not against abortion. That was the best example I could come up with right now. I definitely am not trying to spark any kind of debate. There are some wonderful, accepting and loving Christians as well as Muslims, and Jewish people, etc. Also, there are some who are intolerable of others. There’s good and bad in everything. I look at it this way and please correct me if I am wrong. From what little I know of the Islamic faith, I understand that it is a peaceful religion. I do know that Christianity also preaches love and peace. I consider the Muslim terrorists to be on the same scale as the KKK who consider themselves Christian. Both are people with a warped sense of life and what it is all about–neither reflecting the true meaning of the religions at hand.
Religion this … religion that … religion who … religion what
When are you people going to face the facts?
This whole situation has nothing to do with “religion”.
It is POLITICAL ISLAMIC DOCTRINE PEOPLE … and all other political systems can change and adjust … except Islam because it’s GODS politcal agenda?
Hareega
I find your comment offensive and racist. You are speaking as if all of Jordan are Muslims.
While Christians are only a small minority, it is a very influencial and virant element of the Jordanian society.
Also how do you know what most people want and don’t want in Jordan, you don’t know, I don’t know, we don’t know. A person’s relegion is determined before he/she is born, a child in Jordan is raised being taught to believe that you are what you are born as. This applies for both Christians and Muslims.
In addition, I am just as uncomfortable with a Christian leaving Christianity as you are with a Moslem leaving Islam, however, to say its a illeagle for a Muslim to leave Islam doesn’t make any sense.
What good is it for a person to say I’m a Muslim or say I’m a Christian without believing in that relegion.
We need to stop thinking of relegion as a persons identity becuase faith is what defines relegion. If a person doesn’ thave the faith in that relegion they might as well say I’m not Christian or I’m not Muslim or I’m not Jewish etc…
Cheers
Fadi
What! This is considered CONTROVERSIAL! I am so apalled. Are you saying there is a single Muslim in the world who would DEFEND this?! I just don’t understand how ANYONE could support such a moronic and wicked law. Even if this man said he was a Muslim again; do they really think God can be tricked? Doesn’t He know what is in the hearts of men? I’m reminded of a hymn I love:
“Know this, that every soul is free
to choose his life and what he’ll be
for this eternal truth is given
that God will force no man to heaven
He’ll call, persuade, direct, aright,
and bless with wisdom, love and light;
in countless ways be good and kind
but never force the human mind
Freedom and reason make us men.
Take these away, what are we then?
Mere animals, and just as well;
the beast may think of heaven or hell”.
there are different ways to handle this issue. I don’t think it’s a major problem in Jordan however the very few people who are concerned about get really hurt.
It’s difficult to make a law against the wishes of most people. I believe that most Jordanians are not comfortable with the idea of a person leaving Islam and they don’t want it to be legalized. Therefore, a law which allows people to do so might make most people angry.
Prup
You ask a lot of good and interesting questions.
But if I may allow to say that you are throwing a whole bunch of issues into one pot which doesn’t make it fair.
The very first thing is that some people need to understand that not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs. So I hate to say this that not all Muslims share the same culture and not all Arabs share the same culture.
Now to point out all what the Muslims are doing to the christians is quite unfair. You need to look at the same time at what the Christians are doing to the Muslims. Its both ways.
I am a Christian by the way and a very strong believer, however, I do think its only right to evaluate things objectively.
There are things I like about Islam and there are things I dont like.
But to take all the negatives and say this is Islam is unfair. To point to all the bad people in Islam and say this is Islam is just like pointing to the right wing christians in the US and say this is Christianity.
As I’ve mentioned on a previous post on Natasha’s site, I do believe that most people that are against Islam need to stop and take a look and see how fanatic Islamic sactions came to exist. Why do they do what they do. How can we overcome these challenges.
Its very easy to point fingers but its not so easy to analyze the causes behind a messed up situation.
Looking at both sides as a Christian Arab, I think there are Muslims doing horrible things to Christians and there are Christians doing horrible things to Muslims. I don’t think I need to give examples.
My own believe is if you don’t like someone else relegion don’t practice it but don’t force your beliefs on others.
Cheers
Fadi
I may be called an “Islam basher’ for this. (I’m not, but the series of events starting with the Indonesian schoolgirl beheadings, through the Pakistani church massacre, through the cartoons, through Samara, to this have made me beg moderate Muslims to stop by my site and answer a long series of questions that will hopefully let me understand where they are coming from, and why i should accept their view of Islam rather than the one I seem to see every week or so in the news — and these things are happening, not being made up.)
I want to ask why, when Muslims hear a complaint, one of the first things they do is act like five year olds ‘Mommy, the Christians do it too, nyah, nyah.’ When it is true, it’s usually something they did hundreds of years ago. (I’m an atheist, btw, NOT a Christian)
In this case, though, there’s no comparison. As a bisexual man, I have known many gay men and women who have been disowned by their parents. Yes, it is painful, and sometimes they feel the pain through their entire life. But there is a difference between this and being put in jail, being FORCED to divorce your spouse, and, in the Afghani case, being sentenced to death.
Nas makes an interesting comment about HIS interpretation of Sharia law. And I do not know what his background is as an Islamic scholar. Here’s another interpretation, from the (admittedly very conservative and Wahabist) site
“Islam Q&A”
“66. Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed”
[al-Tawbah 9:65,66]
What you have to do is to remind this slanderer and advise him, and warn him that all his good deeds are to no avail, and that if he does not repent, he will meet Allaah when he is guilty of major kufr.
Tell him that the punishment that he deserves in this world is execution, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever changes his religion, execute him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3017. ”
According to the site
(Responses are composed by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, a known Islamic lecturer and author. … All questions and answers on this site have been prepared, approved, revised, edited, amended or annotated by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, the supervisor of this site.)
The cite is
http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=65551&dgn=4
As for Muna’s response, the fact is that this isn’t something Natasha made up, or found in an obscure, little known journal. This story has appeared in newspapers and on tv around the world, and almost every blog I read has mentioned it. Besides, SOMEONE MAY BE KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS! Saying ‘Shhhh, sweep it under the rug, because it might make people think badly of Islam” doesn’t make sense to me. (And no Christian parent I know of would kill their child or want them killed by the government for converting.)
Natasha, as I said on SM, keep up the great blog.
Don
Thanks for your reply to what a christians reaction would be to any christian changing relegion.
I still would like an answer to my other question. What does Sharia law say regarding a muslim changing their relegion and what do you guys think the consequences be for a muslim changing relegion?
Cheers
Fadi