A la contradictions in the enemy camp, I just love this one. It is not only
a matter of Islamic "Shariah Law" that Apostates get death. How many
supposed "apostates" got death from the Catholic Church from the
pre-Inquisition onward? According to the Mormons and according to the Torah
also the penalty for "apostasy" is death. Apostates are former believers
now non-belivers who are regarded as more dangerous (they have been
insiders and know the insider codes, language, tricks, etc kept from
outsiders/non-believers) than simple non-believers who have never been
exposed to the faith.
The paradox of "diversity" is that there is not one faith or ideology on
this earth that is not outnumbered by those not of that persuasion; and
many of these ideologies and faiths are not only mutually contradictory
(both cannot be true) they are often sworn enemies. When they live
side-by-side without war, each is respecting the others' right to exist and
to hold--even spread--different or diverse views; yet they each seek the
abolition of diversity in deference to "the true faith or true Way". So
each is able to exist and spread out of some kind of notion of "respect for
diversity" while using this notion in order to evangelize and destroy
diversity and any respect for it. Like nazis using nominal "democracy" in
order to destroy nominal and real democracy.
That is why, in my opinion, so called "freedom of religion", which more
often than not really means "freedom" to spy, destabilize, slander, libel,
trick, plunder, proslytize, front for imperial interests etc should be
handled carefully, ruthlessly and without apology under dictatorship of the
proletariat. As my father used to say: "Don't wind up the only honest one
in a crooked card game; these scum are planning that the humanity of
revolutonaries will protect them so they can do to others what they would
not want done to themselves or their children.
This is why, even in a united front, certain elements of the religious,
especially from evangelical religions, should never be united with
even--especially--under the banner of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Jim C.
Karzai Under Pressure to Free Christian
Saturday, March 25, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan - Under mounting foreign pressure, President Hamid
Karzai searched on Saturday for a way to free an Afghan man on trial for
converting from Islam to Christianity without angering Muslim clerics who
have called for him to be killed.
Karzai and several Cabinet ministers discussed the case of Abdul Rahman,
who faces a possible death sentence for alleged apostasy, an official at
Karzai's palace said. But she declined to comment on the outcome of the
talks on Saturday.
Hours earlier, another official said Rahman "could be released soon." Both
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss
the matter with the media.
Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to Karzai asking that the case be
dropped, citing respect for religious freedom, the Vatican said Saturday.
But clerics have questioned Karzai's authority to order Rahman's release
and have warned of a possible revolt if he tries.
"The Quran is very clear and the words of our prophet are very clear. There
can only be one outcome: death," said cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, who is
also a member of the Supreme Court. "If Karzai releases him, it will play
into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising."
Rahman is being prosecuted under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for converting
16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international
Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The case has put Karzai in an awkward position.
While the United States, Britain and other countries that prop up his
government have demanded Rahman's release, the president would be reluctant
to offend Islamic sensibilities at home or alienate religious conservatives
who wield considerable power.
Diplomats have said the Afghan government is searching for a way to drop
the case without inflaming tension here. Authorities said Rahman is
suspected of being mentally ill and would undergo psychological
examinations to see whether he is fit to stand trial.
The trial highlights a conflict of values between Afghanistan and its
Western backers - notably American Christians who cheered the
administration of President Bush when it toppled the oppressive Taliban
regime in late 2001.
Bush expressed alarm about the case this week, but Christian lobby groups
have urged him to do more.
The pope's message to Karzai came in a letter dated March 22 and written by
the Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican spokesman
Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement on Saturday.
"I am certain, Mr. President, that dropping the case against Mr. (Abdul)
Rahman would bestow great honor upon the Afghan people and would raise a
chorus of admiration in the international community," Sodano said in the
letter.
Meanwhile, a respected cleric in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif,
Mohammed Qasim, said: "We don't care if the West drops its support for us.
God will look after Afghanistan."
The chief judge overseeing Rahman's trial has asserted the court's
independence.
"We will continue with the trial as is my responsibility under the
constitution," said Ansarullah Mawlavi Zada, who like most judges in
Afghanistan, is also a cleric.
Asked about Rahman's health, the judge said it was "all right."
Authorities have barred journalists from seeing the 41-year-old defendant
at a rundown central Kabul detention facility, where prisoners are packed
into tiny, overcrowded cells and often rely on food handouts from
relatives.
Legal experts have said the case against Rahman is based on contradictory
laws.
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any
Muslim who rejects Islam should be sentenced to death, according to Ahmad
Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent
Human Rights Commission.
But the constitution adds that "the state shall abide by the ... Universal
Declaration of Human Rights." Article 18 of the declaration guarantees the
freedom to worship and to "change" religion or belief.
---
Associated Press correspondent Amir Shah in Mazar-e-Sharif and Rahim Faiez
in Kabul contributed to this report.
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