Abdul Rahman (convert)
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Abdul Rahman (; born 1965) is an Afghan man whose arrest and trial in February 2006 sparked widespread controversy among the international community. Abdul Rahman had been arrested by Afghan authorities for
apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...
and subsequently threatened with the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. He had converted to Christianity from
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
while providing medical assistance to Afghan refugees in
Peshawar, Pakistan Peshawar is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district population of over 4.7 million in the 2023 census. It is situated in the north-west o ...
. On 26 March 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the Afghan court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps"; Abdul Rahman was released from prison and remanded to his family on the night of 27 March. On 29 March, Abdul Rahman arrived in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
after being offered asylum by the Italian government. Representatives within the Afghan government and many Afghan citizens continued to call for Abdul Rahman's execution, and his wife divorced him shortly after his conversion, leading to an unsuccessful custody battle for their two children. The case became a ''
cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...
'' internationally, and particularly throughout the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
. Harsh condemnation came from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, both of which were the world's leading donors of international aid to Afghanistan at the time. The Afghan government's integrity was called into question, as it had recently been established under the aegis of the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
, shortly after an American-led military coalition overthrew the country's
Taliban government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and informally known as the Taliban government, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is ...
.


Early life

Abdul Rahman was born in 1965. In 1990, while he was working as a staff member for a Catholic non-governmental aid group which was providing medical assistance to
Afghan refugees Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were forced to flee from their country as a result the continuous wars that the country has suffered since the Afghan-Soviet war, the Afghan civil war, the Afghanistan war (2001–2021) or either p ...
in
Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, he learned about
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and he was subsequently baptized into the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. After his conversion, he adopted the biblical name Joel.Quotidiano Net
/ref> In 1993, he moved to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and later, he unsuccessfully sought asylum in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
before he was
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
to Afghanistan in 2002, after the fall of the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
government. Abdul Rahman's wife divorced him because of his conversion to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. In the ensuing custody battle over the couple's two daughters, who had been raised by Abdul Rahman's parents during his absence,Rachel Morarjee (March 29, 2006)
"Abdul Rahman's Family Values"
''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''.
the mother's family raised the issue of his religion as grounds for their denial of his custody. When he returned to Afghanistan, he was disowned by his parents, who stated: "Because he has converted from Islam to another religion we don't want him in our house" and "Abdul Rahman wanted to change the ethics of my children and family. He is not going in the right direction. I have thrown him out of my house", while his daughters said that "He behaves badly with us and we were threatened and disgraced by him. He has no job and has never given me a stitch of clothing or a crust of bread. Just his name as a father" and "He said he was my father but he hasn't behaved like a father since he came back to Afghanistan. He threatens us and we are all afraid of him and he doesn't believe in the religion of Islam."


Arrest and trial

In February 2006, members of his family reported him to the police.Abdul Waheed Wafa He was arrested after police discovered that he possessed a
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
.Cooney, Danie
Afghan Convert May Be Unfit for Trial
Associated Press, March 22, 2006, accessed March 22, 2006
After his arrest, he was unable to find a lawyer in
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
willing to represent him. Authorities barred attempts by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
news agency to see him. Article 130 of the
Constitution of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a theocratic emirate with a totalitarian regime ruled by the Taliban, a political and miliant Islamist movement adhere the Deobandi jihadist ideology with Pashtunwali influences, which holds a monopoly on power. Dissent is not pe ...
enables prosecutors to charge him for apostasy "in accordance with the Hanafi jurisprudence". The text of the article says:
In cases under consideration, the courts shall apply provisions of this Constitution as well as other laws. If there is no provision in the Constitution or other laws about a case, the courts shall, in pursuance of Hanafi jurisprudence, and, within the limits set by this Constitution, rule in a way that attains justice in the best manner.
Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
s asked for the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
for Abdul Rahman, calling him a "
microbe A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
". Prosecutor Abdul Wasi demanded his repentance and called him a traitor: "He should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim society and should be killed." The Afghan attorney general was quoted as saying that Abdul Rahman should be hanged.Who will save Abdul Rahman?
, by Michelle Malkin, ''townhall.com'', March 22, 2006, retrieved March 28, 2006
Abdul Rahman's judicial proceedings, which began on 16 March and became widely known in the international press on 19 March, were overseen by three judges in the public security tribunal of Kabul's primary court. Ansarullah Mawlawizadah, the chief
judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
in the case, said that Abdul Rahman would be asked to reconsider his conversion: "We will invite him again because the religion of Islam is one of tolerance. We will ask him if he has changed his mind. If so we will forgive him." Ansarullah Mawlafizada also said "the Prophet Muhammad has said several times that those who convert from Islam should be killed if they refuse to come back, Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity. That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, then we will forgive him". The judge added more conditions: "If edoes not repent, you will all be witness to the sort of punishment he will face." Even though he was facing a possible death sentence, Abdul Rahman held firm to his convictions: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept it ... I am a Christian, which means I believe in the
Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
 ... I believe in
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
.""Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity"
, by Benjamin Sand, ''VOA News'', March 18, 2006, retrieved March 28, 2006


Efforts by Afghan Christians

While Abdul Rahman was on trial, a number of Afghan Christians worked to bring the attention of the international media towards the suffering of the Afghan Christians and especially Abdul Rahman.


Mental fitness to stand trial

The Afghan Embassy in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
announced on March 22 that the country's judicial system was evaluating Abdul Rahman's mental fitness. Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to President
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
confirmed that Abdul Rahman would undergo a psychological examination. Judge Mawlawizadah stated that since Rahman refused to repent then his mental state was being examined. If he was found to be mentally unfit, the case would be dismissed. An Afghanistan state prosecutor named Sarinwal Zamari said of Abdul Rahman in an interview with the Associated Press on March 22, 2006, "We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person. Doctors must examine him. If he is mentally unfit, definitely Islam has no claim to punish him. He must be forgiven. The case must be dropped." Other sources said Abdul Rahman is "perennially jobless and mentally unbalanced". Prosecutor Abdul Wasei said he doubted claims regarding Abdul Rahman's mental instability. "I did not see any kind of mental problem in this case", he said. Wasei said that Abdul Rahman, when asked about his mental health, insisted that it was fine. "I am O.K., you can prosecute me, I can answer your questions", Wasei said Abdul Rahman told him. Diplomats said that the Afghan government was "desperately searching for a way to drop the case" by declaring Abdul Rahman mentally unfit to stand trial. The court also raised questions about Abdul Rahman's nationality. Abdul Rahman had lived abroad, in Germany, Greece and Belgium. If he had acquired dual nationality, it was argued, the status of his case could change. There were various opinions regarding Abdul Rahman being declared unfit for trial. Critics said that declaring him insane would not solve what they regarded as a constitutional flaw that allows prosecution under Islamic law. An editorial in ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'' wrote that declaring him mentally unfit is "a manufactured loophole" which would enable the Afghan government "to back down to avoid a disastrous internal and diplomatic crisis. This solution, such as it is, won't resolve the underlying discrepancy in Afghanistan's constitution." A ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' editorial echoed these sentiments, saying that declaring Abdul Rahman mentally incompetent was a way for the Afghan government to "avoid the mess" and "that would be a cheap trick because the law would remain on the books." In France, ''Marianne'' magazine stated Western critics of the case might not be satisfied if the Kabul court avoided the death sentence for Abdul Rahman by declaring him insane and unfit for trial. "If he is not tried, he will probably end up in a psychiatric hospital, which for a man of sound mind is sometimes worse than death."


Release

On March 24, 2006, Afghan authorities announced that they were considering releasing Abdul Rahman soon. A special government meeting on his case was held on the following day during which President
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
conferred with several Cabinet ministers for a way to free him without angering the country's powerful conservative
Muslim cleric In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
s who have called for Abdul Rahman's execution. After this meeting an unnamed senior government official said there is a "strong possibility" that Abdul Rahman would be freed on Sunday the 26th. However the prosecutor dismissed any claims that Abdul Rahman was to be released. Later on Sunday the judge made the following statement: "The case, because of some technical as well as legal flaws and shortcomings, has been referred back to the prosecutor's office". Clerics question President Karzai's authority to order Abdul Rahman's release. Cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, a member of the Supreme Court in Afghanistan, warned against interfering with the courts, saying that "The Qur'an is very clear and the words of our prophet are very clear. There can only be one outcome: death. If Karzai releases him, it will play into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising." On March 28, 2006, the AP reported that Abdul Rahman had been released. The announcement came after the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
said he had appealed for asylum outside Afghanistan. On March 29, 2006,
Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
announced that his cabinet had approved Abdul Rahman's asylum plea and Abdul Rahman had already arrived in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


Response in Afghanistan


Government officials

Agence France Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...
(AFP) quoted an unidentified Afghan official as saying that President Hamid Karzai has personally interfered in Abdul Rahman's case to secure the convert's release. "The president is personally working to resolve it peacefully. There is a way out of it", said the official. "I believe it'll take one or two days." Former Afghanistan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah said during a press conference with US Under Secretary for Political Affairs
R. Nicholas Burns Robert Nicholas Burns (born January 28, 1956) is an American diplomat and international relations scholar. He served as the United States ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025. Burns has had a 25-year career in the State Department and has serv ...
, "I know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people. In fact, in our embassy we received hundreds of messages of such kind. As far as I understand the nature of the case has been that the wife of the gentleman has registered a lawsuit against her husband. And then the Government of Afghanistan has nothing to do in it. It's a legal and judicial case. But I hope that through our constitutional process there will be a satisfactory result out of that process." He also stated: "Every time we have a case it is like an alarm. These contradictions etween freedom of religion and shariawill not go away with one or two cases." Ansarullah Mawlawizadah announced international pressure will not affect his rulings in the case, saying: "There is no direct pressure on our court so far, but if it happens we will consider it as an interference. We have a constitution and law here. Nobody has the right to put pressure on us." In an interview to AFP, Mawlawizadah confirmed his position: "We have nothing to do with diplomatic issues. We'll do our job independently." He says that he expects to rule in the case in the next several days.


Muslim clerics

After Abdul Rahman's arrest and after the subsequent outrage and criticism of the
Afghan government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and informally known as the Taliban government, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is ...
, notable Afghan
clerics Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
spoke out against his possible release. Afghan clerics have denounced what they assert is interference with the autonomy of the Afghan courts by other countries as well as by President
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
. Maulavi Habibullah told more than a thousand clerics and young people who gathered in
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
that "Afghanistan does not have any obligation under international laws. The prophet says, when somebody changes religion, he must be killed." Many clerics have spoken out to the media saying that Abdul Rahman should receive the death penalty for apostasy. Cleric Enayatullah Baligh, speaking at one of Kabul's main mosques said, "We respect all religions but we don't go into the British embassy or the American embassy to see what religion they are following. We won't let anyone interfere with our religion and he should be punished."
Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai (; 30 March 1944 – 17 October 2021) was an Afghan politician. He served as acting prime minister of Afghanistan from 1995 to 1996. He was an ethnic Pashtun from the Ahmadzai sub-tribe. Biography Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai was bo ...
, a prominent mujahidin leader and head of the Hizb-i-Iqtadar-i-Islami Afghanistan, and former acting prime minister in the government of
Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistan, Afghan politician and teacher who served as the sixth president of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996, and again from November to December 2001 (in exile from 199 ...
before the Taliban came to power in 1996, said, "Regardless of the court decision hether or not he is hanged there is unanimous agreement by all religious scholars from the north to the south, the east to the west of Afghanistan, that Abdul Rahman should be executed. There is widespread dissent among the masses against the activities of Christian missionaries. These missions exploit the poverty of Afghan people and they pay them to convert. These activities will only translate into fierce reaction as Afghans do not tolerate anything against their religion. Since Abdul Rahman comes from Panjshir, people of the area are coming down to Kabul to show their dissent against him and demand that the court execute him." Muslim cleric Abdul Raouf, a member of Afghanistan's main Islamic organization, the Afghan Ulama Council, stated "Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die." Raouf, who is described by the AP as "moderate", is quoted as saying: "Cut off his head!" and "We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there's nothing left." Raouf said Abdul Rahman will only survive if he goes into exile. During his sermon at Herati Mosque on March 24, 2006, Raouf told around 150 worshippers that Abdul Rahman deserved death since he had "committed the greatest
sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
. God's way is the right way, and this man whose name is Abdul Rahman is an
apostate Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...
." Mirhossain Nasri, the top cleric at Hossainia Mosque, said "If he is allowed to live in the West, then others will claim to be Christian so they can too", he said. "We must set an example. ... He must be hanged." Muslim cleric Mohammed Qasim who resides in the northern city of Mazari Sharif, said: "We don't care if the West drops its support for us. God will look after Afghanistan."


Afghan public

The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
assesses that many members of the Afghan public are vocal in support of Abdul Rahman's execution, though it does not estimate if these are in the majority. "The courts should punish him and he should be put to death", said Kabul dweller Abdul Zahid Paymen. Mohammed Qadir agrees that he must be executed: "According to Islamic law he should be sentenced to death because Christianity is forbidden in our land". Abdul Rahman's neighbor remarked: "there is no way we are going to allow an Afghan to insult us by becoming Christian." Religious intellectual Shahnawaz Farooqui, speaking on Abdul Rahman's conversion, said "he will have to be executed ... If somebody at one point affirms the truth and then rejects it or denies it, it would jeopardize the whole paradigm of
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
. This is such a big offense that the penalty can only be death. At the very most, some scholars argue that the person should be given time to rethink, and if he embraces Islam again, he will be forgiven."


International reactions


Calls for Abdul Rahman's release

A number of Western countries and
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
s condemned his trial as a
human rights violation Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and called for the release of the Afghan convert. * : Australian Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
said Abdul Rahman's case was "appalling" and that "when esaw the report about this efelt sick literally. The idea that a person could be punished because of their religious belief and the idea they might be executed is just beyond belief." * : The
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
government expressed concern, especially as the
Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
had recently taken command of the coalition force in Kandahar province and the government was facing pressure to ensure the mission led to an open, democratic Afghanistan.
Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a ...
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
phoned Hamid Karzai and said in a written statement, "I phoned President Karzai personally yesterday to express our concern. He conveyed to me that we don't have to worry about any such eventual outcome". :Statements calling for Abdul Rahman's release were also issued by the Muslim Canadian Congress. * :
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said, "We will leave no stone unturned to protect the fundamental rights of Abdul Rahman and to save his life" (Austria held the presidency of the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
at the time). * : German
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
told reporters she had received assurances from Karzai in a telephone call that Abdul Rahman would not be sentenced to death. * : The council of Church Society, the senior evangelical body of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, condemned the trial and called on all Christians to express their outrage at the injustice and to do what they could to prevent Abdul Rahman's death. The society also called on the British government to use all its influence in Afghanistan. *
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
called for Abdul Rahman's release, saying that he might be a "prisoner of conscience" and that "the charges against him should be dropped and if necessary he should be protected against any abuses within the community." * : On March 22, 2006, Congressman
Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Hungarian-born American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his deat ...
(D), wrote a letter to Hamid Karzai in which he said, "In a country where soldiers from all faiths, including Christianity, are dying in defense of your government, I find it outrageous that Mr. Rahman is being prosecuted and facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity." Following Lantos's lead a number of government officials protested Abdul Rahman's arrest. Notably, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
spoke out against Abdul Rahman's arrest, saying, "It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another". White House spokesman
Scott McClellan Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is the former White House Press Secretary (2003–06) for President of the United States, President George W. Bush, he was the 24th person to hold this post. He was also the author of a controversial No. 1 ...
said Abdul Rahman's arrest and trial "clearly violates the universal freedoms that democracies around the world hold dear." :Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
appealed directly to President Hamid Karzai for a "favorable resolution", though she did not demand that the charges be dropped.Hawaii Channel
, March 23, 2006
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
R. Nicholas Burns Robert Nicholas Burns (born January 28, 1956) is an American diplomat and international relations scholar. He served as the United States ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025. Burns has had a 25-year career in the State Department and has serv ...
asked for the trial to be conducted with "transparency" and reminded Afghanistan that "people should be free to choose their religion." :The U.S. Islamic advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Abdul Rahman's immediate release. :The
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
urged that Abdul Rahman be released, and allowed to practice his religion freely. :The
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF commissioners are appointed by the president and the lead ...
(USCIRF) wrote in a letter addressed to
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
on March 22, 2006 that: "On several previous occasions, the Commission has raised concern that the Afghan constitution's failure to include adequate guarantees of freedom of religion and expression for members of the country's majority Muslim community could lead to unjust criminal accusations of apostasy and blasphemy. With no guarantee of the right to religious freedom for all individuals, together with a judicial system instructed to enforce Islamic principles and Islamic law, the door is open for a harsh, unfair, or even abusive interpretation of religious orthodoxy to be officially imposed". * :
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
urged the president of Afghanistan to pardon Abdul Rahman. asking "for respect for human rights sanctioned in the preamble of the new Afghan constitution".


Threats to cut off aid to Afghanistan

Germany, which is involved in the UN-mandated International Security Assistance force in Afghanistan and also heads an international effort improving Afghanistan's police force, has suggested that Afghanistan could potentially lose aid or technical support for reconstruction efforts depending on the outcome of Abdul Rahman's case. German Interior Minister
Wolfgang Schäuble Wolfgang Schäuble (; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic G ...
has stated "I highly support the idea that we make it clear to Afghanistan, in every way possible, that abiding by and protecting human rights, which Afghanistan is obliged to, includes rotecting thefreedom of religion." Schäuble also said, "We contribute a lot to rebuilding Afghanistan and towards its stability, so I truly believe that Afghanistan must realize that we insist upon the freedom of religion. You cannot punish people because they change their religion." In response to Schäuble's comments, Afghan Economy Minister Amin Farhang said that the government in Kabul cannot stop donor countries from withholding aid or technical support, but consequences of such withdrawals would be worse for Western countries than Afghanistan. Farhang stated: "I think that politicians in the West, including in Germany, reacted very emotionally. It shouldn't be like that. There's a lack of information. And besides, while the situation hasn't been resolved and the final decision hasn't been made yet, they can't threaten to withdraw security forces or foreign aid. That amounts to
blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
." Farhang also said that Kabul is attempting to build democracy after the Taliban was forced from power by US forces in 2001, but that the right to convert from Islam to Christianity is too extreme for a traditional Islamic society such as Afghanistan which upholds the Islamic punishment for apostasy. He also stated: "Afghanistan cannot switch suddenly from one extreme to the other."


See also

* Kamilia Shehata *
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) first adopted in Cairo, Egypt, on 5 August 1990, (Conference of Foreign Ministers, 9–14 Muharram 141 ...
*
Islam and other religions Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance. Al-Baqara 256 Non-Mus ...
*
Persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point ...
*
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...


Notes


External links


"In quotes: Afghan convert case"
- ''BBC'', 22 March 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Rahman 1965 births Living people Afghan former Sunni Muslims Afghan Roman Catholics Persecution of Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Sunni Islam Victims of human rights abuses Afghan expatriates in Pakistan People from Kabul Afghan refugees Afghan prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Afghanistan Afghan Tajik people Afghan emigrants to Italy Afghan Christians