30th March, 2006
SHERAZ KURRAM KHAN

The hardliners in Afghanistan must have received the news of the Afghan convert Abdul Rahman’s release with heavy hearts on Tuesday. The Rahman saga, which fortunately ended on a positive note, only reinforced the fact that the religious conservatives in Afghanistan still hold sway there.

Why should a man be sentenced to death for converting to another religion? Embracing a religion or quitting it is one's personal choice but this did not get into the heads of most of the Afghans who demanded that Rahman be executed for his “unpardonable” mistake of converting to Christianity some 16 years ago.

Conversions take place around the world. Many Christians are embracing Islam in the West but no convert has ever been tried in a court of law. Christians didn’t protest when well-known boxer Cassius Clay - now known as Muhammad Ali -  converted to Islam. The clergy and the faithful did not force the celebrated boxer to reconvert to Christianity. The Christians in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world demonstrated no violent reaction when renowned Pakistani Christian batsman Yousaf Yohanna accepted Islam of his own free will.

The emotions of Afghan people ran high ever since Rahman was charged with death over his conversion to Christianity. The people could not contain anti-Rahman sentiments after learning that the charges against him were likely to be dropped. The pent-up hate and anger was let out on the streets of Afghanistan following the news.

In fact, the mounting international pressure prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to intervene. What would have been the reaction like if Rahman was awarded a death sentence? The jubilant Afghans would have fired shots in the air, extended congratulations and distributed sweets to hail the decision. The Afghans must not let despondency take hold of them because tribal clashes and the lax law and order situation in the country has afforded them the opportunity to make “good” use of the saved bullets.

Freedom to decide on a certain religion is man’s fundamental right. The very idea of slapping capital punishment to someone who switches over his religious allegiance is repugnant. The situation serves as a pointer to the degree of religious tolerance and inter-faith harmony in the country.

Those clamoring for Rahman’s death would have achieved little even if it had delivered desired results. Any Muslim converting from Islam to some other religion in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world would have kept their lips sealed for sure, fearing trouble.

Nevertheless, the vicious cycle of fear and suppression would also demand the converts master the art of dissimulation, which is worse than laying bare one's heart.

Let’s assume Rahman had reconverted to Islam to avoid a death sentence. In that case what parameter have the Afghan hardliners got to ascertain the genuine feelings of Rahman? Despite the plethora of scientific and technological advancements. I am sure nobody is the possessor of such a gauge.

If Rahman had suffered a death sentence, imagine the emotional and psychological trauma his family would have to go through. Would they have been able to live the way they were living earlier? Would Rahman’s death not have kept them perplexed all their lives? So what was the point in pressing ahead with a death sentence demand for the man?

The hardliners insisted that Rahman be awarded death since under Afghanistan's Sharia legal system, he could have faced execution if he had refused to renounce Christianity.

I fail to understand why did the Afghan conservatives fail to entertain sympathy for the 41-year-old man who is said to be unfit to stand trial owing to his alleged mental disorder? Does Islam not lay greatest emphasis on Haqooq-ul-Ibad (rights of people)?

Why don't the so-called champions of Islam in Afghanistan take steps to root out so many evil practices that have plagued the country? Poppy cultivation, human trafficking, lawlessness, curtailed freedom for women and terrorism are few of the areas which need to be attended to by the Afghan people and the government.

Rahman’s conversion does not have the potential of doing the country harm when compared to the ills at work in the country.

It is strange that the conversion of an individual took so much overriding importance with millions of Afghans. Contented with the false impression of all is good in the land, the religious extremists got engaged in directing hate at Rahman. Perhaps they want to give the impression to the world at large that they are very touchy regarding their religion. I wish they really were. They (the religious conservatives) have magnified Rahman’s “crime” like anything.

These religious extremists who undoubtedly are inspired by the Taliban are acting no differently than their mentors who demolished Buddhist monuments in the country so conveniently and callously as if they were bringing down the sand houses.

Does Islam not teach the Muslims to respect other religions? Certainly it does. Much to the chagrin of the liberal and moderate Muslims across the world, the Taliban continue to exercise their malign influence on Afghans. Things would continue to stand so unless and until people of Afghanistan are liberated from the trance and clutches of the Taliban.

Before pushing and shoving Rahman to the dock it would have been better if the religious hardliners had done some soul-searching.

One cannot expect a boost in religious tolerance in Afghanistan so long as the moderate and saner voices remain unheard. A swelling in moderates’ ranks can do the trick of furthering prospects of increased religious tolerance in the country.

Sustained and concerted efforts need to be launched by the Afghan government, the civil society, and the international community to turn Afghanistan into a truly progressive, modern and liberal country.

This essay was first published by Assist News Service (www.assistnews.net). The writer is a Pakistan-based freelance journalist.

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Comment left by Jonathon Cameron What does the author mean by modernity? What is the value of being liberal and progressive? Are these values as they are applied in the west of any real value to any society in light of the decadence that plagues the west? Is modernity, progressiveness, etc, etc really something to aspire to when we see in our culture the leeway given to the very problems that undermine the foundations of a strong and healthy culture and society, in the name of tolerance? Therefore, do we insist that Afghanistan look to the west as an example of all that is good and pleasing to God, whom in their own confused way they desire to please above pleasing people, whom they consider evil and living lives in henous disobedience to the laws of God as they understand them? If the west sums up democracy and "freedom", no wonder they look didainfully upon us. They see the wickedness of our nations, and we in turn insist upon imposing our profligate ways upon them, is it any wonder that they are violently protective of their culture? However, their grave mistake is to believe that the west is Christian, when in reality, on the whole, our pop culture is very pagan. This is their highly mistaken understandin of what Christianity represents. Afghanistan does not need more "tolerance" according to the western definition of the word. Afghanistan, like Australia, America and every other nation on this earth, above all things, needs God, not a free market economy, not inter-religious harmony, God. Only the Lord Almighty can fix Afghanistan's problems and the problems of the world.

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