A Free Man

I am happy to hear that Abdul Rahman is scheduled to be released. I pray that he remains safe from the calls for his murder. He is a brave man. However, he is not being released because he has the right to chose his religion, but because he is "mentally unfit." Calls for his murder by CLERICS, should not go unnoticed. We are not talking about "Al-Qaeda," but ordinary everyday clerics. Again the fact that apostasy is punishable by death in Islam, should come as no surprise to an educated person post-9/11. Of course, you are not supposed to be aware of these details because you should be marveling at the 1001 Muslim Inventions

Hundreds of people protested in Afghanistan on Monday against a court's decision to drop a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, while an official said discussions were underway to determine when he would be released.

Officials said the case was dropped Sunday partially because of concerns that Abdul Rahman is mentally unfit to face trial. The move also followed strong pressure from Western governments.

Prosecutors have said they want doctors to examine Rahman, but they have not confirmed that he would be released. Prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said state attorneys were working on the case Monday and an announcement would be made later in the day. He declined to elaborate.

...A warden at Policharki said Rahman was still at the jail Monday, detained in a concrete cell by himself.

Muslim clerics have threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.

Monday's protest ended peacefully about two hours after it started in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, said police commander Nasruddin Hamdrad. The protesters chanted "Death to Bush!" and other anti-Western slogans, while the police stood guard.

... Prison warden Gen. Shahmir Amirpur said Rahman had been asking guards for a Bible but they had none to give him. "He looks very calm. But he keeps saying he is hearing voices," Amirpur said.

... Rahman was being prosecuted for converting to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He was arrested last month after police discovered him with a Bible. AP via Yahoo

I read an interesting opinion on apostasy and its effects:

Today we read of new mandatories, of liberty, and of promised equality to minorities under Moslem rule; and newspapers assert that a new era has come to the Near East: Economic development, intellectual awakening, reforms, constitutions, parliaments and promises. Is the new Islam more tolerant than the old? Will the lives and property of converts be protected, and the rights of minorities be respected?

Again and again has European pressure, aided by a few educated Orientals, endeavored to secure equality before the law for all religions and races in the Near East. But as often as the attempt was made it proved a failure, each new failure more ghastly than the last. The reason is that the conscience and the faith of the most sincere and upright Moslems are bound up with the Koran and the Traditions. Civilization cannot eradicate deep-seated convictions. Rifles and ironclads, the cafe, the theatre, written constitutions, representative parliaments; none of these reach far below the surface. A truer freedom…than the one supplied by their own faith, must come before Moslems can enter into the larger liberty which we enjoy.

Now you may be surprised to hear that the passage comes not from today's news, but The Law of Apostasy in Islam by Samuel Zwemer in 1924. So when will Islam have its Enlightenment?