They Kill Christians, Don't They?

They Kill Christians, Don't They?

In a little covered story, we found out this weekend that Afghanistan is about to execute a man for converting to Christianity. Mind now, this is happening in one of our best allies in the region. The situation compels two quick observations. One is, the "religion of peace" is capable of murder on a scale that the Western mind has a hard time even accepting as real. The other is that our leaders are in denial about this fact.

Why the silence? Bush and his administration obviously want to keep this quiet, but why are the New York Times, Washington Post, and their ilk keeping this story off of their pages as well? The San Jose Mercury news has it, and it contains this:

The defendant, 41-year-old Abdul Rahman, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told the Associated Press in an interview. Rahman was charged with rejecting Islam, and his trial started Thursday.

During the one-day hearing, the defendant confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Mawlavezada said.

``We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law,'' the judge said. ``It is an attack on Islam.''

Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which is interpreted by many Muslims to require that any Muslim who rejects Islam be sentenced to death, said Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Repeated attempts to interview Rahman in detention were barred.

The prosecutor, Abdul Wasi, said he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman converted back to Islam, but he refused.

Now, as Afghanistan is a country which I know quite well, let me add a bit to the story. First, there are very small quantities of people of other faiths living there. I even visited a synagogue there. Those people are a protected class under Sharia, known by its Arabic name of Dhimmi. They pay a small annual tax, have limited rights, such as not being allowed to vote, but on the whole they are legally permitted their existence and lives, and allowed to practice their religion, as long as they are not too overt about it. The Jews I met there wear turban and Jalwar Kameez, just like everyone else. But their lives are not in danger.

The issue here is conversion. A Muslim may not convert to any other religion. Ever. The sentence is death. The accused are given a chance to renounce their new faith, and restore their Islamism. If they refuse, they die. That simple. Just like Mo put down in the Koran. This is nothing new. After all, Islam means submission, and it really means, submit, or die.

Our nation, nay, our civilization, needs to come to grips with Islam as it is, not as we wish it to be. This story is of signal importance. It needs to be told. The government of Hamid Karzai, our friends, are about to execute a man because he will not renounce Jesus Christ.