> >
> >  Man faces death penalty for becoming a Christian. illusration of how
> > tolerant Islam is.
> >
> >
> > Judge Says He Could Escape Punishment If He's Ruled Insane
> >
> > By GRETCHEN PETERS and LARA SETRAKIAN, with reporting by BILAL SARWARY
> >
> > KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20, 2006 - Despite the overthrow of the
> > fundamentalist Taliban government and the presence of 22,500 U.S.
> > troops in Afghanistan, a man who converted to Christianity is being
> > prosecuted in Kabul, and a judge said Sunday that if convicted, he
> > faces the death penalty.
> >
> > Abdul Rahman, who is in his 40s, says he converted to Christianity 16
> > years ago while working as an aid worker helping Afghan refugees in
> > Pakistan.
> >
> > Relatives denounced him as a convert during a custody battle over his
> > children, and he was arrested last month. The prosecutor says Rahman
> > was found with a Bible.
> >
> > Human rights workers have described the case as an unsettling reminder
> > that the country's post-Taliban judiciary remains deeply conservative,
> > and they have called on President Hamid Karzai to intervene. During
> > Taliban times, men were forced to kneel in prayer five times a day,
> > and couples faced the death penalty for sex outside marriage, for
> > example. Reform efforts have been slow, say experts, since there are
> > so few judges and lawyers with experience.
> >
> > The U.S. State Department is watching the case closely and considers
> > it a barometer of how well democracy is developing in Afghanistan.
> >
> > "Our view . is that tolerance, freedom of worship is an important
> > element of any democracy," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
> > said. "And these are issues as Afghan democracy matures that they are
> > going to have to deal with increasingly."
> >
> > A number of Christian nonprofit groups do humanitarian work in
> > Afghanistan. Dominic Nutt of Christian Aid calls the Rahman case a
> > step backward for the country, especially if Rahman is executed.
> >
> > Nutt, who has spent time in Afghanistan, tells ABC News "few
> > practitioners are used to the concept of democracy and toleration .
> > [many] are educated only in Islamic law."
> >
> > Presiding judge Ansarullah Mawlazezadah tells ABC News a medical team
> > was checking the defendant, since the team suspects insanity caused
> > Rahman to reject Islam.
> >
> > "We want to know that the doctors have given him a green light on his
> > mental state, because he is not normal when he talks," says the judge.
> >
> > The post-Taliban constitution recognizes Islam as Afghanistan's
> > religion, and decrees that Islam's Sharia law applies when a case is
> > not covered by specific legislation. The prosecutor says under Sharia
> > law, Abdul Rahman must die.
> >
> > The judge, however, holds hopes for a solution.
> >
> > "We will ask him if he has changed his mind about being a Christian,"
> > Mawlazezadah says. "If he has, we will forgive him, because Islam is a
> > religion of tolerance."
> >
> > The case has caused outcry among Afghan human rights groups, and
> > reformists like Karzai have sought a more liberal, secular legal system.
> >
> > "Afghan law protects freedom of religion," says Naader Naderey of the
> > Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. "We want to see the reform
> > of the judiciary. We want to see judges with wider legal experience."
> >
> > Rahman's case contradicts Article 7 of Afghanistan's constitution,
> > which assures that "the state shall abide by . the Universal
> > Declaration of Human Rights." That declaration states that "everyone
> > has the right to freedom of thought . to change his religion or belief."
> >
> > However, the constitution also states that Islamic law takes
> > precedence over secular law and international treaties. Furthermore,
> > the supreme court of that country has the right to veto certain
> > provisions and interpret compliance with such treaties.
> >
> > "I think that right now there's in Afghanistan some differing
> > interpretations of the Afghan constitution," McCormack said. "These
> > issues rightfully should get resolved through the court system. But
> > they need to be resolved in a transparent way and according to the
> > rule of law. It is a case that we are going to be following quite
> > closely, though."
> >
> > One expert in Islamic law explains that Afghanistan's penal code
> > divides into two parts: the religious "huduud" dictated by the Koran
> > and secular "ta'zir," which is regulated by the state. Conversion to
> > another religion is a crime under religious law, which takes
> > precedence over the secular and more tolerant policy.
> >
> > Muslim converts to Christianity have been prosecuted in other
> > countries ruled by Islamic law. Since 1996, high-profile apostasy
> > cases have put Christian converts on the stand in countries that
> > include Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the Sudan.
> >
> > The legal scholar, who asks to remain anonymous given the sensitivity
> > of the topic, says, "It's a fundamental tenet under Islam that
> > conversion to another religion is a heinous act. It has a touch of
> > treason . there's an aspect to it of betrayal against the communal
> > identity."
> >
> >
> > http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/LegalCenter/story?id=1746943&page=1
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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