Afghanistan (MNN) — The United States, Australia, Germany, Italy and other NATO nations are pressing Afghanistan to observe the religious rights of an Afghan man facing a possible death sentence for converting to Christianity.
“We believe in universal freedoms and freedom of religion is one of them. But I should also note more particularly as regards this case, that the Afghan constitution as we understand it also provides for freedom of religion,” said Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, speaking to journalists.
“While … We certainly respect the sovereignty of the Afghan authorities and the Afghan system, from an American point of view, people should be free to choose their own religion.”
Christoph Strässer, spokesman on human rights for the Social Democrats, part of Germany’s governing coalition says, “For one, Germany is fundamentally against the death sentence, independent of whether it’s sanctioned by different cultures,” Strässer says. “And secondly, religious freedom is extremely precious to us and should be respected by an Islamic society too.”
40-year-old Abdul Rahman has been jailed for two weeks converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again. Under Sharia law, renouncing the religion of Islam is a crime punishable by death, although Islam respects the right of Christians and Jews to practice their faith.
Rahman told a judge at a preliminary hearing last week he became a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago.
Christians around the world are asking Afghan leaders to affirm their constitution which demands that the state protect the liberty and dignity of all people, affirming the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Pray that this case won’t negatively impact the number of Afghanis turning to Christ.
