update: abdul rahman has been released and as far we know, is still alive. hopefully we can keep him that way.
this is not just about abdul rahman. this is also about others in afghanistan who have chosen to reject islam and choose christianity. will we raise our voices just as loudly for those who follow a similar path to rahman? will we object to the denial of religious freedom to others in afghanistan and press for a permanent policy change? the answer to those questions has yet to be determined.
william f. buckley jr(editor of national review) :
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns did not earn a medal of freedom for his public statement in the matter, but he was formally correct in saying, This is a case that is not under the competence of the United States. It is under the competence of the Afghan authorities.
Thats right. And the hell with Afghan supremacy. If an occupying military force whose presence every day continues to be critical to keep Afghanistan free cannot protect one citizen who embraces the faith of our fathers, then the government of Afghanistan should pause for a moment to worry not about the indignation of the Afghan people if Rahman is kept safe. Thought should be given to the indignation of the American people, who will stare in disbelief at the phenomenon of a country recently liberated by the expenditure of American lives and money failing to protect from the wrath of the mob a 41-year-old citizen whose crime was having chosen Christ.
couldn’t have said it better myself. read more.
more conflicting interpretations of the koran bring into question its “peaceful” nature. investor’s business daily has some tough queries for cair (council on american-islamic relations). what we would really like to know (and IMD dares to ask) is whether the koran actively promotes violence against infidels and those who choose to reject islam. i’m not an expert on the koran, but the evidence to support this seems to be there based on what i’ve read in the above article and others.
cair and others in muslim leadership owe it to those in their religion (who are not participating in acts of violence) to set the rest of us straight if we are misunderstanding islam. i don’t think we are. this doesn’t mean that i believe that all muslims are terrorists, or that they all support terrorists. what the rioters, suicide bombers, and spiritual leaders of islam are saying and doing does not represent the average muslim. that goes without saying. it’s harder to separate the koran from its own words about the appropriate punishment for unbelievers.
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afghani democracy: a flaw in execution
Technorati Tags: abdul rahman, afghanistan
Hey Lisa, I’m still having trouble loading your site. I tried a couple times yesterday and couldn’t get the front page to open at all. Just thought I would let you know in case others have been having the same trouble. That and I want to be able to read your site 🙂
I don’t know much about the koran either. I do find it disheartening that a country recently liberated by America has a constitution that allows for such discrimination. Not that it’s all America’s fault, because I don’t think that at all, for in the end it is up to the Afgans to build their own country. We can’t do it all.
As bad as this may sound, I do think it is a positive thing for Afghanistan to have a debate about the role of religious freedoms in their society, even if that means some Christians (or any who may refuse Islam) might have to endure some hardships in the process…i know that’s not going to sound how i want it to.
I think this episode is a microcosm demonstrating the need for the war on terror to also include diplomacy and an exportation of civil debate and not just invasion and military force that the last five years seem to include.
The government always talks about hearts and minds, here’s our chance.
Sorry about the load problems. I think I fixed that.
I had a serious disagreement with some bow-tied guy on MSNBC about how much influence the United States should have in Iraq and Afghanistan. What I said at the time was that we have to let Iraq and Afghanistan make their own mistakes if we want them to exist independently of the United States. I haven’t changed my opinion on that. But I’m beginning to see the other side of this too. Our country has sacrificed lives to bring this liberation to these countries, and we have the right to tell these countries that you can’t kill someone for rejecting Islam.
There’s nothing I can disagree with here. I’m not sure whether the diplomats we now have in place are as effective as they could be (ex. Karen Hughes). That is a weakness the Bush administration should address if they want to make any progress in the War on Terror.
Loading much better now. Thank you.
Karen Hughes is a diplomat?
Just as long as you are happy with it…lol. From what I’ve seen of her attempts at spreading the freedom and democracy message to the Middle East, I would have to say that she’s not. If I’m not mistaken, Bush sent Karen Hughes to Saudi Arabia for that purpose, and seeing the video of it just made me cringe. I’m sure she’s his best friend and all that, but maybe he should put people with more experience in charge of spreading that gospel to the rest of the world. Just a thought. I think Hughes does have an title, but I’m not sure whether she is officially a diplomat or not.
Interesting.
I had forgotten that Bush sent her on an envoy. I believe her training is in domestic policy (i.e., attorney) and not international relations. She is very smart, though. And probably more times than not, I find myself in agreement with her.
But, yeah, I don’t think she needs to leave her cabinet position as domestic advisor anytime soon.