"Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it."

From the Associated Press:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060328/ap_on_re_as/afghan_christian_convert

Rahman, 41, was released from the high-security Policharki prison on the outskirts of Kabul late Monday, Afghan Justice Minister Mohammed Sarwar Danish told The Associated Press.

"We released him last night because the prosecutors told us to," he said. "His family was there when he was freed, but I don't know where he was taken."

Deputy Attorney-General Mohammed Eshak Aloko said prosecutors had issued a letter calling for Rahman's release because "he was mentally unfit to stand trial." He also said he did not know where Rahman had gone after being released.

He said Rahman may be sent overseas for medical treatment.

On Monday, hundreds of clerics, students and others chanting "Death to Christians!" marched through the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif to protest the court decision Sunday to dismiss the case. Several Muslim clerics threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.

"Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it," said senior Cleric Faiez Mohammed, from the nearby northern city of Kunduz. "The Christian foreigners occupying Afghanistan are attacking our religion."

Rahman was arrested last month after police discovered him with a Bible during a custody dispute over his two daughters. He was put on trial last week for converting 16 years ago while he was a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He faced the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws.

I don't know. I used to be open-minded when it came to Islam being described as a "religion of peace". But then you hear its leaders crying:

"Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it."

Islam demands those who don't agree with its basic beliefs to be killed? I'm really confused. If these Afghani clerics are mistaken in what Islam really stands for, why doesn't anyone else in a position of leadership in the Islamic tradition step up and quickly correct these bloodthirsty clerics or simply tell them to hush up?

I'm afraid the real reason no one ever steps up to deny these claims is because these outraged Afghani clerics are speaking the truth about Islam... That it does demand death for anyone who doesn't stay within its folds.

Many modern day Muslims bring up the past by saying the Christian Crusaders were just as bloodthirsty. Probably. But most in the church didn't agree with the Crusaders' tactics of "convert or die" and Christianity has moved on from those disgraceful practices.

After all, Jesus said, "Love your enemy--do good to those who persecute you." Christians have asked for forgiveness from those they've wronged and from God. And they have moved on, confident that they have received it because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

If Islam is such a "peaceful" religion, then why hasn't it moved on from utilizing these medieval or "Dark Ages" tactics? It seems to be a religion that is evolving backward...becoming darker rather than enlightened. It's transforming out of a "peaceful" religion into a violent, hate-filled, xenophobic religion.

So why doesn't anyone in the Islamic world point out this paradox and stop this madness? Could it be because, deep down, this is reality of the Koran? Kill all non-believers, scare your own believers into toeing the line or else...

The more these clerics yell for an innocent's man blood, the more I'm reminded of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Abdul Rahman has been freed, but let's continue to pray for his safety. Let's continue to keep our brothers and sisters in Christ in that turbulent area of the world in our prayers.

Ready to die--freed on a technicality

Abdul is free--for now. But for how long? And will his fellow countrymen kill him for leaving Islam?

From the latest news on Abdul Rahman:

In an interview published Sunday by an Italian newspaper, Rahman said his family, including his former wife and two teenage daughters, reported him to authorities.

He stressed that he was fully aware of his choice to convert.

"If I must die, I will die," Rahman told the Rome daily La Repubblica, which did not interview him directly but channeled questions through a human rights worker who visited him in prison.

Rahman said he chose to become a Christian "in small steps" after leaving Afghanistan around 1990. He moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, then Germany and tried to get a visa in Belgium.

"In Peshawar, I worked for a humanitarian organization. They were Catholics," Rahman said. "I started talking to them about religion, I read the Bible, it opened my heart and my mind."

After saying he was ready to die, he told La Repubblica: "Somebody, a long time ago, did it for all of us," in a clear reference to Jesus Christ.

___

Associated Press correspondent Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report.

How many Americans Christians would be strong enough to say the same thing? God bless and keep Abdul safe. His battle to believe as his conscience tells him is far from over.

Facing the Lions in Afghanistan...

From WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49345

Man faces death penalty for becoming Christian
Despite ouster of Taliban by U.S., court still prosecutes ex-Muslim

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


Despite the fact the hardline Taliban regime is no longer in power, an Afghan man faces possible execution for allegedly abandoning his Islamic roots and becoming a Christian.

"Yes that's true, a man has converted to Christianity. He's being tried in one of our courts," Supreme Court judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada told the Middle East Times.


The case centers on Abdul Rahman, believed to be 41, who converted from Islam to Christianity some 16 years ago. His relatives reportedly notified authorities about the conversion.

The constitution in Afghanistan is based on Shariah law, which states any Muslim who rejects his or her religion should be sentenced to death.

"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge told the Associated Press. "It is an attack on Islam. ... The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty."

If he indeed is sentenced, Rahman would be the first person punished for leaving Islam since the Taliban was ousted by American-led forces in late 2001, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the U.S.

Prosecutor Abdul Wasi says he offered to drop the charges if Rahman made the switch back to Islam, but the defendant is maintaining his Christian beliefs. The judge is expected to rule within two months.

You hate to admit it but the death penalty is one very effective means of preventing your population from switching religions.

This story is yet another illustration how "Allah" is not the God of the Bible, no matter what the universalists believe. The apostle John tells us "God is love," and "We love because God first loved us." How can Allah be God if he decrees death sentences on those who refuse to worship him?

But isn't it awe-inspiring to know that Abdul Rahman is willing to die for his belief in Christ as the Son of the one and only true living God? Pray that Abdul will receive justice and be set free. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who face death and other punishments for their belief. Pray that they will remain firm in their faith in a loving God who cares enough about sinful mankind that he sent his son Jesus into the world for the forgiveness of our sins.

Pray that more people's eyes will be opened to the true horrors that non-belief in Christ wreaks upon the world...