Really good news:
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said.
Officially, it is being sent back for further investigation - so, technically Rahman is still under threat...but my bet is that this will be the last we hear of the case. It might have taken a bit of arm twisting, or it might have been an attack of common sense, but whatever it was, it seems that the Afghans do wish to leave the 13th century behind.
Posted by Mark Noonan at March 26, 2006 12:10 PM
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Rhymes With Right linked with Rahman Freed -- But Not Free
I think that Time gets it right here, and others may be jumping the gun in celebrating the release of Christian convert Abdul Rahman from jail. The dismissal of a case against an Afghan citizen for converting from Islam to...
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Tracked on March 26, 2006 03:09 PM
Stop The ACLU linked with Abdul Rahman Will Be Released
Via ABC…video at the Political Pitbull
An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence, and he will be released soon, an official said.
“The court dismissed t...
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Tracked on March 26, 2006 04:13 PM
Danny Carlton -- alias "Jack Lewis" linked with Abdul Rahman update
From FoxNews... The court's decision was sure to anger at least some of the clerics who have strongly demanded that...
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Tracked on March 27, 2006 07:21 AM
Comments
Thank God. In every sense of the phrase.
Posted by: Robert K Meyer Jr at March 26, 2006 01:24 PM
I very much doubt this is the last we'll hear of this case. I hope the US offers to get him the hell out of the country if he is released.
The root cause of this situation was never addressed in this case:
"The court's decision was sure to anger at least some of the clerics who have strongly demanded that authorities enforce a provision in the country's Islamic-based laws calling for the execution of Muslims who abandon the faith."
If this went to trial, it would put this law on trial showed us where the hearts of Afghans truly lied in regards to a pluralistic government.
I think Bush and co. lobbied very hard for this not to happen because they feared the law would have been upheld and supported in the country.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at March 26, 2006 03:51 PM
I agree this won't be the last we hear of this. While I do think this is a step in the right direction it's a very small one. Here's hoping they can continue to progress though!
Posted by:
Gozer at March 26, 2006 07:37 PM
I found this to be a good article on concisely summing up the Iraqi war.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18566827%255E25377,00.html
I would ask any left leaning folks that read these boards to review this article and help me by pointing out what I am missing here. To me, this article makes perfect sense. What am I missing? Thanks! ml
Posted by: minnesota libertarian at March 26, 2006 10:44 PM
Deleted - Off topic, repeats known lies.
Posted by: Joe Blow at March 27, 2006 01:47 AM
Tom,
Quiet honestly, I don't think you're right on this one - this is beyond any left/right political dichotomy in the United States...this must be approached, as far as we can as outsiders, from the viewpoint of Afghanis.
For the poor Moslem - and, of course, most Afghanis are poor and Moslem - his faith is the staff upon which he leans in the day to day struggle for existence. You and I might think their religion absurd, but it is what they grew up with - a desire to punish for apostasy isn't an act of senseless violence, but an act of piety, in the view of most Afghanis.
So, there was the stage set for Rahman's arrest - but he's ended up released; case dismissed. This is remarkable - I was all set to offer up a prayer for our latest martyr in Rahman's case, but it looks as though he'll be fine.
What this tells me is two things:
1. The average Afghani is not worried to death that a man converts to a different religion - he might not like it, but he's got no great desire to run riot over it.
2. The political system in Afghanistan works - the law was followed, not the decrees of men...and the political class in Afghanistan showed sufficient flexibility to deal with this really thorny issue.
I'm happy all 'round with this, and think that everyone behaved splendidly.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at March 27, 2006 02:56 AM
I wouldn't be satisfied until it became illegal for a cleric or anyone to propose execution solely on the basis of religious beliefs. Essentially religious "law" would be discredited rather than enshrined in any constitution. The Constitution should be changed as a result of this incident. A barbarian democracy wouldn't be worth much of an American investment of lives and money. What I am going to hate is how the US will look the other way and allow this sort of thing to continue under the radar of the press.
What we have to remember is that even though the legal system may be off the hook on this particular case, the guy's life is still not worth two cents. He will be assassinated because some cleric decreed that he had to die.
Posted by: Bob Turner at March 27, 2006 06:30 AM
"So, there was the stage set for Rahman's arrest - but he's ended up released; case dismissed. This is remarkable - I was all set to offer up a prayer for our latest martyr in Rahman's case, but it looks as though he'll be fine."
See, I don't think it's remarkable. It think it's politics. Rahman was released because of outside pressure put on Karzai, most importantly by the US. Karzai basically had to do what the US wanted in this case (he owes and relies on us), so the Afghan government came up with this mentally ill defense to secure his release. I don't believe for a minute this guy is mentally ill. And his release has nothing to do the will of the afghan people or their judicial system. It was Bush and co. putting enough pressure on Karzai to find a way to get him released. It's a stop-gap to a much larger problem.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at March 27, 2006 09:02 AM
When released he'll need protect for I fear he'll be murdered; by family as a honor killing, or by extremists in pure infidel hate.
Posted by: Dave at March 27, 2006 09:02 AM
Post a comment
Thank God. In every sense of the phrase.
I very much doubt this is the last we'll hear of this case. I hope the US offers to get him the hell out of the country if he is released.
The root cause of this situation was never addressed in this case:
"The court's decision was sure to anger at least some of the clerics who have strongly demanded that authorities enforce a provision in the country's Islamic-based laws calling for the execution of Muslims who abandon the faith."
If this went to trial, it would put this law on trial showed us where the hearts of Afghans truly lied in regards to a pluralistic government.
I think Bush and co. lobbied very hard for this not to happen because they feared the law would have been upheld and supported in the country.
I agree this won't be the last we hear of this. While I do think this is a step in the right direction it's a very small one. Here's hoping they can continue to progress though!
I found this to be a good article on concisely summing up the Iraqi war.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18566827%255E25377,00.html
I would ask any left leaning folks that read these boards to review this article and help me by pointing out what I am missing here. To me, this article makes perfect sense. What am I missing? Thanks! ml
Deleted - Off topic, repeats known lies.
Tom,
Quiet honestly, I don't think you're right on this one - this is beyond any left/right political dichotomy in the United States...this must be approached, as far as we can as outsiders, from the viewpoint of Afghanis.
For the poor Moslem - and, of course, most Afghanis are poor and Moslem - his faith is the staff upon which he leans in the day to day struggle for existence. You and I might think their religion absurd, but it is what they grew up with - a desire to punish for apostasy isn't an act of senseless violence, but an act of piety, in the view of most Afghanis.
So, there was the stage set for Rahman's arrest - but he's ended up released; case dismissed. This is remarkable - I was all set to offer up a prayer for our latest martyr in Rahman's case, but it looks as though he'll be fine.
What this tells me is two things:
1. The average Afghani is not worried to death that a man converts to a different religion - he might not like it, but he's got no great desire to run riot over it.
2. The political system in Afghanistan works - the law was followed, not the decrees of men...and the political class in Afghanistan showed sufficient flexibility to deal with this really thorny issue.
I'm happy all 'round with this, and think that everyone behaved splendidly.
I wouldn't be satisfied until it became illegal for a cleric or anyone to propose execution solely on the basis of religious beliefs. Essentially religious "law" would be discredited rather than enshrined in any constitution. The Constitution should be changed as a result of this incident. A barbarian democracy wouldn't be worth much of an American investment of lives and money. What I am going to hate is how the US will look the other way and allow this sort of thing to continue under the radar of the press.
What we have to remember is that even though the legal system may be off the hook on this particular case, the guy's life is still not worth two cents. He will be assassinated because some cleric decreed that he had to die.
"So, there was the stage set for Rahman's arrest - but he's ended up released; case dismissed. This is remarkable - I was all set to offer up a prayer for our latest martyr in Rahman's case, but it looks as though he'll be fine."
See, I don't think it's remarkable. It think it's politics. Rahman was released because of outside pressure put on Karzai, most importantly by the US. Karzai basically had to do what the US wanted in this case (he owes and relies on us), so the Afghan government came up with this mentally ill defense to secure his release. I don't believe for a minute this guy is mentally ill. And his release has nothing to do the will of the afghan people or their judicial system. It was Bush and co. putting enough pressure on Karzai to find a way to get him released. It's a stop-gap to a much larger problem.
When released he'll need protect for I fear he'll be murdered; by family as a honor killing, or by extremists in pure infidel hate.