Rekjalhew

March 22, 2006

Afghanistan’s Secret Christians

by IndependentConservative @ 3:07 pm. Filed under Evangelicals Under Attack

Abdul Rahman is not the only person in Afghanistan to convert from Islam to Christianity. There are many more like him and I am sure they are praying for their own safety as well as that of Abdul Rahman.

AFGHANISTAN: MANY CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY IN SECRET, SAYS AUTHOR

Rome, 22 March (AKI) - Abdul Rahman, the man condemned to death for having abandoned Islam, is just one of many Afghanis who decide to convert to Christianity, but most are forced to do so secretly, argues Arab Christian author Camille Eid. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Eid, author of “The Christians who come from Islam”, said during a recent trip to Afghanistan he met many similar cases. “They are Christians who have sprung out of nowhere and it’s unclear how they have decided by themselves to convert” he added. The US, Italy, Germany and Canada have all expressed concern over the fate of Rahman who converted to Christianity 16 years ago.

“I also spoke to a priest who had passed through Kabul and he said he was amazed that women sitting on the ground at the local market saw he was a foreigner and a Christian, by the cross he was wearing, and attracted his attention to them by making a sign of the cross with their fingers. He was convinced that they were trying to send him a coded message” said Eid, a Lebanese Maronite who lives in Italy.

According to the author, Abdul Rahman is not the first Afghan citizen to have been sentenced to death for apostasy since the fall of the Taliban regime.

“The Islamic Taliban militias who still control entire areas of the country issued a statement in June 2004 in which they referred to a death sentence handed down to an Afghan converted to Christianity, Moulawi Asad Allah.”
…
“Their spokesman declared that a group of militants had dragged the convert from his home and decapitated him after finding Christian preaching material in his wardrobe.”
…

Unless there are changes in the Afghan Constitution their lives are also in danger.

There are conflicting reports about where Abdul Rahman was when he converted to Christianity. The article mentions:

Rahman’s conversion in 1990, when he was an aid worker helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan, alienated him from his family which then denounced him in a custody dispute over his two children.

But other articles mention he was in Germany at the time of his conversion.

ITALY: Italy, Germany defend Afghan Christian convert

…
“We will do everything possible to save the life of Abdul Rahman,” German Development Minister Heide Wieczorek-Zeul told the daily Bild, which said Rahman had converted to Christianity while living in Germany for nine years.
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That same article also mentions that Italy’s former President Francesco Cossiga wants that nation’s troops withdrawn if Rahman is killed.

…
Italy called in the Afghan ambassador in Rome and its former President Francesco Cossiga suggested withdrawing Italian troops unless the man is spared. Two Berlin cabinet ministers spoke out and Germany’s top Catholic cardinal demanded his freedom.

The protests present a dilemma for President Hamid Karzai, a key ally in the United States-led war on terrorism, who needs foreign troops to defend against al Qaeda and Taliban remnants. Germany has 2,700 soldiers in Afghanistan and Italy 1,775.
…
Cossiga wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, now campaigning for reelection, and urged him to withdraw Italian troops from Afghanistan unless he wins assurances from Kabul over Rahman’s safety.

“It is not acceptable that our soldiers should put themselves at risk or even sacrifice their lives for a fundamentalist, illiberal regime,” Cossiga wrote.
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I agree with Cossiga regarding our own troops!



3 Responses to “Afghanistan’s Secret Christians”

  1. Michelle Malkin Says:
    March 22nd, 2006 at 3:16 pm

    RALLY FOR ABDUL RAHMAN

    ***scroll for updates…CAIR calls for Rahman to be freed…yes, CAIR*** Cam Edwards of OnTap e-mailed me yesterday with an excellent idea–a rally for Abdul Rahman outside the Afghan embassy in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the D.C. Freepers, a permit ha…

  2. The Tech In Black Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 10:50 pm

    Snowballin’

    If by different they mean less violence and more diplomacy, then yes. We haven’t killed anyone over this matter. I’m also glad to see this issue snowballing on the Muslim World. The Religon of Peace is most definitely leaning into the oxymoronic s…

  3. Magic Statistics - “I accept no responsibility for statistics, which are a form of magic beyond my comprehension.” — Robertson Davies » More Afghan Christians suffering persecution Says:
    November 26th, 2006 at 1:49 am

    [...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 2 Responses to “More Afghan Christians sufferingYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 2 Responses to “Afghanistan’s Christians live inconstantdanger” 1 Magic Statistics - “I accept no responsibility for statistics, which are a form of magic beyond my comprehension.” — Robertson Davies » I happily take my share of the blame for this says: March 31st, 2006 at 12:35 pm […] Afghanistan’s Christians live in constant danger […] 2 CaNN :: We started it. says: March 31st, 2006 at 1:21 pm […] - AFGHANISTAN’S Christians live in constant danger … (magicstatistics) […] Leave a Reply […] 2 Magic Statistics - “I accept no responsibility for statistics, which are a form of magic beyond my comprehension.” — Robertson Davies » Abdul Rahman arrives in Italy a free man says: November 25th, 2006 at 10:45 pm […] More Afghan Christians suffering persecution […] Leave a Reply [...]

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