Afghan Outrage – Let the Man Free

Whatever happened to "There is no compulsion in religion." (The Qur'an 2:256)? Islam is a religion of peace, of tolerance, of unity. Allah (God) has given us the right to choose which path we take – otherwise our life - even Heaven and Hell - would have no meaning.

Yet, the Afghani courts show us yet another sign that the Muslim word is stuck in the Dark Ages. They want to sentence to death a man who converted from Islam to Christianity. As a Muslim, I am deeply troubled that a person would find a need to convert to Christianity in order to find religious harmony. It is not his fault. We, the Muslims of the world, have pushed him out of Islam with our ignorance and arrogance of the religion of the Prophet Mohammed. This leads to cruelty and intolerance – exactly the traits that the Prophet set out to reverse.

In case you’re wondering what news story I am talking about:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060324/ts_nm/religion_afghan_dc_16

In Islam, punishment is not as common as it is in the Western world. In other words, the number of offenses in Islam punishable by an Islamic government is fewer. For example, in the US, you can go to jail for accidentally killing another person – its called manslaughter. Under Islamic law, the situation needs to be resolved by the family of the killed and the accidental killer – the government can only arbitrate the situation.

In Islam, the health and well-being of the society has a higher priority than that of the individual. For that reason, Islamic punishments are very stern – theft is punishable by cutting of the fingers (not the whole hand), and murder is punishable by death.

With that said, it might be conceivable that a Muslim who converts to another religion and is causing chaos in the community might warrant punishment. In the case of Abdur Rahman, however, his conversion was silent and - as far as I can tell - has no intention of causing trouble.

There is no need for a Muslim to convert to Christianity to “find Jesus” – Islam is an extension of Christianity and Judaism; they are embedded in Islam. One only need read the Quran to find the teachings of Moses and Jesus.

From one Muslim to the rest of the world – leave Mr. Rahman alone. If he is on the right path, we should be happy for him. If he is on the wrong path, Allah will deal with him in time.