More about Rahman and Afghanistan

We have known today that Rahman has asked for asylum in any foreign country:

 KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity has appealed for asylum in another country, the United Nations said Monday.

U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards said the world body was working with the Afghan government to meet the request by Abdul Rahman, 41.

"Mr. Rahman has asked for asylum outside Afghanistan," Edwards said. "We expect this will be provided by one of the countries interested in a peaceful solution to this case."

 And Italy has sought for obtaining his asylum:

ROME – Italy's foreign minister will ask the government to grant asylum to an Afghan man who had faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity….

Abdul Rahman, 41, was released from prison late Monday, a day after the court dismissed the case under pressure from the Bush administration.

He quickly dropped out of sight, as Muslim clerics in his country continued to call for his death.

BUT why on earth no one was there waiting to protect him? A man who has received so many death threats, how can be left alone in a country where his own family has accused him and his own father has called him a traitor? We knew the Afghan Government was not going to do very much? BUt how about the International Forces?

The problem now is that he has disappeared: no one has seen him since. Afghan authorities have settled him to have mental treatment in the West. I just do not know what to make of it. Is he in hiding protecting by International troops and as a secure measure no one has said where he is? Or has he been kidnapped?

BUT there are also MORE Christians detained for the horrible, despicable crime of being Christians:

According to Compass Direct -a monitor of Christian persecution-, two other Afghan Christians were jailed in the past few days.

"Because of the sensitive situation, local sources requested that the location of the jailed converts be withheld," the organization said.

Compass Direct also reports that this past weekend, one young Afghan convert to Christianity was severely beaten outside his home by a group of six men who eventually knocked him unconscious with a hard blow to his temple. He woke up in the hospital two hours later, but later was discharged.

"Our brother remains steadfast, despite the ostracism and beatings," one of his friends is reported to have said.

The link does not tell anything of accusing the beaters and send them to jail. Maybe the Government thinks: "hey, they are doing that work for us". Each day passes along, each day I am more disgusted with the so-called powers of this world. BUT I am more displeased even with the so-called "intelectuals" and non-governmental organizations, who are so eager pointing out the human rights violations in a lt of Western countries and yet are so quiet when talking about the ones that happen in these part of the world. They are just silent. They do nothing. They say nothing. Even this is really a very grave violation that keeps repeating everyday

It's disgusting to see it's all a theatre, just made to think themselves are better all the rest of the world. I would like to see how many of them will face death with the same braveness and greatness of mind as this man has done.

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Danish Imam Akkari: let’s send some guys to blow Nader (UPDATED)

From Jyllands-Posten:

The danish imams are defending their prophet Muhammed through an aggressive campaign against Demokratiske Muslimer and critics of the press, in particular the morning paper Jyllands-Posten.

This is revealed in a documental from Denmark made by the french TV-station France 2, who has employed hidden cameras to unveil the truth. The documental is to be broadcasted today.

In a central segment of this documental it is shown how imam Ahmed Akkari (photo, left) indirectly threatens the leader of Demokratiske Muslimer Naser Khader(photo, right). It is proposed that he ought to be killed if he joins the government.

“If he becomes Foreign or Immigration Minister, one should send a couple of guys to blow up both him and the ministry“, says the spokesman for the imams who travelled to the Middle East.

You can read it at Sugiero or Agora.

As Sugiero says this is nothing but TERRORISM. The worst of it all is that he is threatening another Muslim (NOTE:it would be enough grave that he had attacked a Non-Muslim, BUT we are I think so used to it. I do not know if worst is the word, I think “shocking although not surprisingly is that he is threatening a Muslim of different views”, is more accurate). Why? You can read who he is at Agora:

And while his passion for Danish democracy grew stronger, Naser was constantly reminded that he was from a part of the world where democracy did not exist.

For many years he was an interpreter at a number of treatment centres for victims of torture, where he listened to one horror story after the other of the way dictatorial regimes will persecute people who don’t agree.

After interviews, he more than once experienced the need to go to the toilet and vomit.

He also began to function as an interpreter in situations where it became clear to him that the Danish case workers, social advisors, teachers, pedagogues, policemen, to name a few, where talking to immigrants of whose situation they knew nothing. He was especially struck by the fact that most Danes’ knowledge of Islam was almost non-existant.

Therefore Khader published the book “Honour and Shame” in 1996. Here he tried to give an introduction to the central tenets of Mid-Eastern culture which were based partially on ancient culture and partially on Islam.

The book became a bestseller in Denmark. Here was finally an immigrant able to explain the way things were, the people working with immigrants were saying.

But in The Islamic Community, Imam Abu Laban railed against this Naser Khader who was daring enough to write a book about Islam without consulting an Imam!

“I am not an apostate, I love Jesus Christ”

There are a lot of people writing about Abdul Rahman, that man who can be another martyr in the 21st century. A man that, knowing what was going to happen to him, acknowledge his faith in Christ. A man whose own family denounced to a Shari’a tribunal for the very grave crime of converting to Christianity. I have written yet on the subject, but there are more news, and as a result I am going to make a summary of the posts I have read throughout the blogosphere, underlining that the difference between the cartoons and this case is that in here the life of a peaceful, valuable and good human being can be destroyed because of the intolerance of a country and its President Hamid Karzai, who has decided not to intervene to save his life.

Having said that, it’s reconforting to me that in a moment where we have so many self-interests and when so much people tend to hide what they really are to satisfy the political correctness, there are people as this man that has everything to lose, he keeps himself firm, as Pastorius notes:

He was questioned, “Do you confess that you have apostacized from Islam?”

He responded, “No, I am not an apostate, I believe in God.”

Question: “Do you believe in the Koran?”

Response: “I believe in the Injil (New Testament) and love Jesus Christ.

So simple, and serene and yet so important and brave. You can see the video in which he says that here.

Among the Governments, possibly the Italian Governemnt has taken the hardest position of all. We can see it in the Italian Blogosphere. For example, Libero Pensiero is commenting an article appeared in the Italian Newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, in which a paragraph at least is very important:

Con i Talebani non si sarebbe saputo niente (anzi, qualcuno avrebbe detto “sono i loro usi, Abdul lo sapeva e non doveva convertirsi o comunque non doveva dichiararlo”), non si sarebbe potuto protestare più di tanto (i Talebani non erano molto aperti ai consigli altrui) e, soprattutto, avrebbero fatto come volevano (vedi statue dei Buddha, distrutte nonostante e richieste dell’Onu).

Translation: With the Talebans this case would not have been known (or if it has been the case, they would have said, “these are our uses, Abdul knew it and he shuold not have converted, and do not talk more about this issue), there would have never been so much protests (the Talibans were not very open to discussion) and, above all, they would have acted as they wanted (just remember the Buddha statutes, destroyed, without taking into account the demands from ONU).

Shalman Rushdie about the Islamism

The islamism is a totalitarian doctrine?

“Politically, of course. It is a totalitarian ideology that uses the figure of a charismatic super-leader. The Western public opinion is near to render herself with all this. I see her doubting, very worried to offend the religious sentiment of people that uses God as a excuse for terror. We have arrived to consider the cartoons of Mohammed and the intimidation and the menace just the same. It’s absurd to say: “Well, we menace you, but you have provoked it yourself”. We are mistaking the captif with the violent”.

Shalman Rushdie: in an interview at Liberale per Israele.

Security Council Fails To Reach Accord on Iran

The Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany failed to reach agreement at a meeting Monday on how to respond to the Iranian nuclear crisis but said they would forge ahead in the coming days to break the impasse.
The deadlock comes as U.S. and European officials confirmed that Britain had presented the United States with a paper outlining a possible diplomatic strategy to resolve the crisis, including new talks and concessions. But the British representative at Monday’s talks, John Sawers, said Britain had not made such a proposal at the meeting.
Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns said the United States is not going to participate in direct negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue.
Top foreign policy coordinators for the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement that echoed an agreement Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had reached with those five governments in January. The statement expressed “deep concern” that Iran has “failed to respond positively” to requests by the United Nations’ Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and allow for more intrusive U.N. inspections of its nuclear energy program.

From the Washington Post

Iran must be very worried because of this “deep concern”.

At the same time, Victor Harel, the Israeli Ambassador in Spain has stated that

“Iran is an international danger” because of “its economic potential, the antisemitism of his President, Ahmadinejad, and its intentions of achieving nuclear weapons”.

He also added that is necessary that the EU, USA and Israel continue to be united in pointing Iran as an international danger and the “conclusive” diplomacy, because if that policy does not succed “we will enter a much more dangerous path”.

Accordingly to Iran Focus, not only Israel is going to be the target -being that grave enough-, but looks like Iran is making an alliance with the Al-Qaeda people living in Iran.

We should also read a very discouraging post from Sandmonkey. The comments are also worth reading.

And by the way, looks like BBC has signed a deal with Iran. In fact a HUGE ad campaign:

“The publicity campaign will be in the form of advertisements introducing cultural, historical and development attractions of Iran,” said Deputy Head of ICHTF for Cultural and Communication Affairs Alireza Sajjadpour.

Talking to IRNA, he referred to BBC, CNN, Germany’s ZDF, al-Jazeera and al-Arabia as the international TV networks selected for introducing the tourist sites.

“We have signed a huge agreement with BBC,” he added. He, however, declined to cite the contracts’ details.

Are they going to talk about the mullahs and the human rights abuses? Are they going to speak about the women’s situation? I think it’s good that the internal situation of Iran is known abroad. But really, an ad campaign paid the ayatollahs is going to really show the real Iran? I just doubt it.We have only good news about the dissident Akbar Ganji, who is home at last: although he is very frail, he is more determined now to say what he said 6 years ago.

technorati tags: nuclear crisis, Security Council, Akbar Ganji, BBC, Victor Harel, Iran, Germany

A valuable Foreign Minister

From IDNES.CZ (in Czech), an interview with Czech foreign minister Cyril Svoboda who was one of EU politicians that were demanding taking a strong position in the controversy – specifically that EU should demand apologies for burned embassies in Syria and Lebanon.

Q: … I must appreciate that you are one of the few EU politicians who are defending European values, for which we have been fighting hundred of years. It’s shocking what position was taken by some European politicians like Mr. Solana, who said that he will not accept the publication of simmilar cartoons in European newspapers. Don’t you think that such abandonment of European values and retreating before extremists leads us to hell?

A: Yes, I don’t want to follow such path. I agree with you. Europe must be aware of its values and must act as a power, that is respected and respectable. I want for Europe to be able to ask any other county on this planet for decency, for an example to follow international rules of conduct. And I don’t want “solidarity” to be empty word. It shows it’s easy to speak about solidarity but it’s difficult to realize it. Therefore I propose creation of a crisis scenario for the realisation of solidarity, including economical solidarity, in case some of member states will be facing boycott. It does not have to play role if it’s small or big state, and it’s a pity Denmark has been left almost alone.

Q: … do you think steps taken by EU regarding cartoons were sufficient?

A: Sadly the reaction of EU was very moderate. It would be more favourable for EU to speak clearly and show solidarity with one of it’s members. It was also a test of how EU would behave if Czech Republic would be in position of Denmark. (we have to remember that a Czech video recorded by the public TV has been also very polemic).

Q: … have EU got apology for burned ambasies?

A: Unfortunately we did not get apology for burned ambasies, and we even did not ask for it, even though I strongly demanded it and I will continue to demand it. Even though such position is not majority, it’s
right position.

Translation from Info Islam.

I totally agree with this man. What a difference from the Finnish one! (And Mr. Solana, what a shame he is Spanish!)

Technorati : Cyril Svoboda, European Union, Javier Solana, Mohammed cartoons
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A Kuwaiti newspaper’s editorial

From Ace of Spades:

Published in a Kuwaiti newspaper. I guess there is a debate happening in the Muslim world. We just need it a little quicker. Time is ticking down.

Osama bin Laden is a terrorist, a criminal, a murderer, is a vile man and has many inhuman attributes, but he is certainly not responsible for the rise in hatred toward Muslims in Europe. This hatred has emerged due to the adoption (by Western governments) of the many new measures taken to stem the flow of Muslims into Europe and the United States.

[…] Muslims themselves are responsible for disfiguring Islam’s image in the Western mind. They have failed to present a positive image of Islam, and therefore are responsible for all the trouble that has descended on Muslims today.

Osama bin Laden never forced anyone to go to Iraq, kill its people and destroy its infrastructure. He has forced no one to kill innocent people in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, America and Europe. Bin Laden didn’t tell European Muslims hate the countries that have given them refuge and made them rich after their poverty, fed them after their hunger, provided them with freedom after being enslaved in their own Muslim counties, and finally educated them after they were ignorant. You, the Muslims of the West, made all of these catastrophic choices out of your own free will. You willfully sought evil and failed to return the West’s goodwill with goodwill. What do you expect from the Westerner, when he sees his own citizens killed in the name of religion? Sees hate in the name of religion? Sees terrorism harm him in the name of religion?

HT: Noisy Room.NET.

Very interesting what this editorial says. Let’s hope they are not going to imprison or to kill its writer.

Technorati : Watching America, terrorism