Article

2006-03-26 Afghanistan

Afghan court drops case against Christian

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Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-03-26 09:16|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 They want him to leave the country but with the case against him open so that they can imprison and execute him if he ever returns to try to retrieve his kids.

Posted by lotp 2006-03-26 09:27|| 2006-03-26 09:27|| Front Page Top

#2 Some Islamic clerics had said Rahman would face danger from his countrymen if he were released.

Very simple solution. Make public that in case something happens to him or even if he disappearsn for more than 24 hours then every imam in a radius of ten miles will face a very unpleasant death.

Posted by JFM">JFM 2006-03-26 09:32|| 2006-03-26 09:32|| Front Page Top

#3 I believe Rahman had previously tried to get refugee status in Germany. I wonder where he will now end up.

I hope many Americans have been paying attention (though I doubt it) and learned that not everyone has values that are in any way compatible with ours.

Posted by ed 2006-03-26 09:35|| 2006-03-26 09:35|| Front Page Top

#4 Gen. Shahmir Amirpur, who is in charge of Policharki, confirmed the move and said Rahman had also been begging his guards to provide him with a Bible.

That'll take care of the problem. He'll be dead within 24 hours. Either a prisoner or a guard will take care of the problem and Karzai will have clean hands.

"Lack of evidence" - so Converts will be killed according to law rather than acknowlege that the Constitution does have a clause guaranteeing religious freedom.

The problem remains, Karzai, and it's still a topic. He dies - at anyone's hand - we hold you responsible.

Posted by Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-03-26 09:35|| 2006-03-26 09:35|| Front Page Top

#5 TW: The problem remains, Karzai, and it's still a topic. He dies - at anyone's hand - we hold you responsible.

Karzai is our guy. But the Afghan population doesn't dance on his strings. Karzai can't even protect himself - our boys do that for him. He certainly can't protect Abdul Rahman. Heck - NGO's with resources to hire bodyguards can't protect themselves. How is a lone individual going to stay alive? Ideally, we should hand this guy a green card and ship him stateside. Maybe even sedate him and tie him up if necessary. I'm sure church groups will be happy to help him adjust (and maybe help him start a new family). Besides, he spent years in Europe. He should do just fine. Outside Afghanistan.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-03-26 12:15|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2006-03-26 12:15|| Front Page Top

#6 Zhang, I know he'll do just fine outside Afghanistan. The Mad Mullahs cannot let him leave alive. It would prove an escape from islam is possible. Local reports have the fundo truly annoyed that he might be whisked out safely. It's their nightmare.

And it is Karzai's responsibility to ensure that that Sharia does not trump democracy and Article 18. Else it's not democracy and becomes the very thing from which we have fought so hard to free them

We cannot support a government - however fledgling it may profess to be - (Fledglings follow the basic rules in the nest.) that embraces a law of intolerance, violence and hatred.

And whether Karzai can, or will, or understands that acting in the name of human rights is within his realm. As a good muslim, he should cherish the chance at martrydom. It's him or Rahman.

Posted by Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-03-26 12:40|| 2006-03-26 12:40|| Front Page Top

#7 TS: We cannot support a government - however fledgling it may profess to be - (Fledglings follow the basic rules in the nest.) that embraces a law of intolerance, violence and hatred.

Say there's a general rising in Afghanistan. How many men are we prepared to lose enforcing a right to apostasy? A hundred? A thousand? I think we're about to find out just how much Afghans (and the Muslim world) value the right to kill apostates. And how much we value liberal democracy. Afghanistan has a representative democracy - it's just not a liberal democracy, meaning minority rights aren't guaranteed.

Still, I'm not totally pessimistic - I think our persistence in Iraq has shown the Muslim world that Uncle Sam will give them a run for their money - that it isn't easy to outlast us. The response to 9/11 showed that Uncle Sam will hit back hard if struck at home. It's quite possible that the natives will be quiescent in response to our insistence upon religious freedom. One can only hope.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-03-26 12:56|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2006-03-26 12:56|| Front Page Top

#8 The Mad Mullahs cannot let him leave alive. It would prove an escape from islam is possible.

The "mental problems" story is precisely a way for them to save face here.

If I could wave a magic wand, I would modernize Afghanistan overnight. Its people would be prosperous, employed, educated, connected happily to the outside world. And in such a state I doubt very many would care about Rahman's religious convictions.

But at the moment, that's a ways off. What IS nearby is the need to pressure Iran from the east and Pakistan from the west. Our presence in Afghanistan is a key move in dismantling the Islamacist nuclear threat and Karzai is a key player in supporting that.

One step at a time, folks. This is, as Condi Rice keeps reminding us, a generational war. There will be plenty of time to demand a full change of heart re: fundamentalism in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Right now we need to deal with the immediate threat and set some bounds, as with the Rahman case, the publication of the cartoons etc.

Posted by lotp 2006-03-26 12:57|| 2006-03-26 12:57|| Front Page Top

#9 Thinemp, source on the mullahs' nightmare being that someone whisks Rahman out to the US safely?

Posted by Edward Yee 2006-03-26 13:16|| http://edwardyee.fanworks.net]">[http://edwardyee.fanworks.net] 2006-03-26 13:16|| Front Page Top

#10 My own take is that Karzai and many want just that, in order to save this guy's life without taking on an impossible fight.

On the other hand, the Taliban would LOVE for this to be framed as the West versus the inherent demands of Islam. It plays right into their hands, because your average dirt poor, uneducated Afghan is not about to appreciate the secular arguments for religious freedom, when Islam is the one thing he has that he can hold to proudly.

*IF* we are both wise as serpents and patient as ... well, more patient than Americans tend to be, anyway ... then we have a chance to see that country evolve in ways that will cause the Taliban to wither away at the roots. But it will not happen overnight.

As to why our troops should support the mission there anyway, I could quote Condi Rice on remembering that it took us more than a year or two to evolve into non-discrimination against blacks - a fact that she gently suggests is an opportunity for us to be a little humble when looking at the progress of Iraq and Afghanistan.

But I don't have to. Our military presence in Afghanistan is for our own needs in dealing with Iran, Pakistan etc. It also supports the creation of a moderate, democratic country there over time, which will be to our benefit eventually as well.

But first and foremost it's a flanking move to shape the battlefield with the Islmacists. This is not the time to abandon Afghanistan into their hands, giving up the position we worked hard for and undercutting Karzai in the process.

The Taliban-aligned prosecutor who brought these charges against Rahman wants just that outcome. I for one do not want to give it to him.

Posted by lotp 2006-03-26 13:30|| 2006-03-26 13:30|| Front Page Top

#11 Edward It was a Yahoo AP item in the news - just in the body of the early stories as the charges broke. Searched but can't find to give you a link. The statemant surprised me, actually - along the lines I stated, I wish I could find.

lotp I'm not advocating leaving at all. Same reasons. And more determined, but feel a real punch for the 1 step forward, 2 steps back hit.

Patience. Fortitude. Success.

Posted by Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-03-26 13:50|| 2006-03-26 13:50|| Front Page Top

#12 The CBS radio report about this case alleged that "Christian groups" were "close to the Bush administration" and that is why we put pressure on the Afghans...

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-03-26 17:27|| 2006-03-26 17:27|| Front Page Top

#13 CBS news producers are tendentious asses.

Posted by anon 2006-03-26 17:30|| 2006-03-26 17:30|| Front Page Top

#14 lotp, I wish I could have said it as well as you. Spot on!

Posted by 49 Pan">49 Pan 2006-03-26 18:28|| 2006-03-26 18:28|| Front Page Top

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