Increasing international pressure over the case of Christian convert Abdul Rahman is forcing the Afghan government to play a careful balancing act between its Western allies and religious conservatives at home.
What is your opinion about this whole drama? Do you think that Afghan government will carry out the death punishment if Abdul Rahman is convicted by the court?
masoda said
hi broters and my beloved country noble poeple
first of all hello to all of my afghan broters
Here i implied to ab rahman, who converted to CHN, thats not rare definitly not,but this is rare that why he is coming in publice and showing up ????????
i strongly suspect that he has a politicial issue behind this conversion, becuase after spending 10 years in germany, he returned to afghanistan, quite soon he converted himelf to CHN, from one side europens countries are trying afghanistan and afghan goverment emotions weather poeple still standing on islam or not, on other hand they wanted to show other muslim that our CHN is the right religoiuse, thats why this afghan joined us
so on other side geramn govt calimed for full cooperation and proctection of ab rahamn
SO this is all propaghanda, dont be curiose about it
its eurpoens countries polites
Alghaib-u-indallah said
God has created human being first than religion came up. Why we do not try to be a proper human being. Who is that bloody internationally important Abdul Rahman? while these so called protector of human rights export war and kill hundreds of Abdul Rahmans every day.
Abul Rahman is another good example of imperialism deception and concealment.
There is no room for this kind of people in Islam. Free him now. He doesn’t deserve to be a muslem.
Aqbal said
I know many CHR who converted to Islam. Non of them has been convicted to dead sentence and they can freely live in their countries.
I don’t understand the fear of our Moslems how this conversion to CHR can destroy our religion.
Let him practice any religion he prefers.
We had always freedom of religion in Afghanistan until the Pakistani trained Mujahedin took over our country.
Britt said
I think Masoda could very well be correct in thinking that this is westernized propaganda. However, that does not make it any less interesting. The way this incident is being portrayed in the western news is that Muslims are irrational and unable to control their temper. Now the fear is that Muslims will not be tolerant and allow anyone the right to choose their own beliefs. It seems as though our whole world is consumed by the fear of which kind of violence Muslims may decide upon next. Westerners are frightened by what is seen as Muslim irrational violence which is exactly what the cartoon article meant to say. The Danish article made fun of how the Westerners were much too quick to assume that all Muslims are violent and intolerant, and I find it a sad irony that the ignorance of the writer’s use of cartoons to illustrate his point were misunderstood and abused by those Muslims in search for a reason to confront the domination of western values.
Both incidents show that Westerners and Muslims are living in fear of each other and that some parties are trying to provoke the other in order for there to be a confrontation.
I am glad that the majority of both parties are normal rational people with no such desire for violent confrontations and I am happy that this forum is here as it is obviously important that normal people have a place where we can discuss the misunderstandings which arise from the provocations that some people try to make us react to. Of course we should not passively accept every provocation but can’t we agree that it is the job of those of us who are tolerant and do not want violence to promote peace through communication devices like this.
London Man said
Salamalaikum warahmatulahi wabarakatu
My beloved brothers and sisters may peace be upon all of you and those who accept guidance. In agreement with much of what Britt has pointed out i would like to stress the reason for this story being held in the spotlight. In the last couple of days we have seen on our news channels headlines such as ” Afghan becomes Christian” or ” Convert to Christianity shall be executed for change of faith”. Although there is a slight change in sentence structure, the base meaning of both sentences is the same. Firstly it is obvious that Abdul Rahman ( may allah guide him) feels the need to come onto public television in a fairly conservative islamic country and profess his conversion to “Christ” and stating ” ma esawe shodam”. It is clear there is not only a political agenda behind this but it is should also be obvious to us that this an open provocation of the muslims, quite similar to that of the disgusting cartoons published of our beloved Nabi (peace be upon him). The reason for his complacency in stating openly that he has apostated is also something that should catch our attention. There is a feeling that ‘bigger’ people are protecting him and this is a way of the West telling their Muslim counterparts that ” be careful in how you react, we own you”.
Referring to whether he should be executed or not, this is not a matter for the laymen like myself and many others, but an issue for the scholars of islam who have enough knowledge on issues such as these. We should note that Islam is in danger when ignorant people beging to pass fatwahs and judgements on matters of religion which should be left to qualified. If it is clear in Shariah that a man that apostates and leaves the fold of islam should be executed (using evidence from Quran and Sunnah and not from western ’scholars’ who beleive they can pass judgements because they have a piece of paper with ” degree in islamic arts and literature”) then it who are we to act contrary to the most supreme Law giver, God himself.
Jammeel Bismillah said
Hi Folks,
Religion is nothing but just a cockerel who thinks to crow at dawn so that the sun will shine again. Religion is the caused of all chaos … therefore individuals has the option to adapt less evil religion … less heresy and fanatics … less people who converted lasiks in suicidal fanatasy and commits themselves into bombers. In short … let Afghans have the free will to adapt whatever religion fits his/her mood, faith and belief.
Abdul Rahman - Germany said
Indeed true … once a Muslim is highly educated to know the unbiased truth and rationality, then speaks to tell his/her fellow Muslims, immediately the impression is … either blasphamous or not a Muslim (regardless of converted to Christianity or not)
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This only show the backwardness and ignorance of traditional Muslim followers. A bloody fanatics and sources of suicide bombers
Basit said
Abdul Rahman is a man created by either the Taliban, or Iran..If you viewed closely his defense during his trial, he spoke in an Iranian Tone..They created this Infidel as a tool for their personal agenda.
And now the Taliban have a reason to incite pain towards the Afghan Gov’t.
Jammeel Bismillah said
Some people when confronted with reality … just hide to the fantasy of their religion. Well … no wonder when one succumbed to ignorance, just cling to the ambigeous belief without any reason but play dumb like a robot.
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But for sure … one must remember that as soon as we come out to this world from our mother’s womb, we don’t mean any religion at all. It was just incidental that someone was born in an environment where religious fantasies and belief are being practiced. Simple as that … and no malice at all towards anyone. Just plain reality. Our mind was not set to any religion on our birth. It was programmed to us of whatever dominance we encountered in growing up.
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Say … a pius Muslim in Afghanistan today … granting was born from Christian family in Rome, it’s just natural that one will not grow up to be Muslim but most likely a pius Christian. It is just a matter of incidence where you were born. It’s not a plan nor choice. And one must realise this bare truth of reality… for there is no escape. Someday somehow … this will surely prevail on humanity.
Abdul Bashir said
European Muslims to Establish Rational Identity for World Islam
By Abdullah Bakr, AP Religion Writer
08 April 2006 – 2 hours, 43 minutes ago
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That’s what Muslim leaders from across the world described Saturday as part of broad visions that touched on everything from Islamic law to lesson plans for school children — all aimed at forging a clear Muslim identity that retains traditions but does not clash with rational values.
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Some speakers even gave it a name: the “Theology of Integration.”
But in quieter tones at a conference on Islam’s future of the world, there was agreement that any significant changes are still a long way off for the 1.3 billion Muslims at a time when the pressure for reform is mounting.
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One of the main reasons, experts and scholars said, is the current realities of Islam itself.
The Quran has many passages about tolerance toward non-Muslims amid Islamic settings. But there is almost nothing in Islamic codes or religious texts dealing specifically with issues facing Muslims living as minorities in different cultures, said many at the conference.
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This puts moderate Islamic leaders in the challenging role of creating a body of reference for diaspora Muslims. They also could face a backlash from conservatives over accommodations of rational society, such as Muslim men shaking hands with unrelated women or taking loans that require interest payments.
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“You don’t go to Cairo or Saudi Arabia or Syria and ask an Islamic expert to solve a problem dealing with the Western society,” said Trafa Baghajati, a Syrian-born assistant imam in Vienna. “You go to Islamic experts who know rational and what it is like to live in the current society. We are stuck between our new world of Islam and the old world.”
The conference, which brought together more than 500 world imams and religious advisers, is working toward a final declaration expected Sunday. Some participants sought clear messages on efforts to reinterpret Islamic outlooks from an educated perspective and train imams of the world rather than the widespread practice of bringing mosque leaders from Arab nations or South Asia.
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“It requires a whole new field of thinking,” said Ayatollah Sayed Abbas Ghaemmagami, the chief Shiite Muslim mufti in Germany.
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Others suggested more outreach to Christian groups and churches to explore common spiritual heritage, or requiring teachers in mostly Muslim schools to introduce lessons that stress the children’s unified bonds, instead of religious segregation.
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“We should bring them up to understand that this is their only planet … their home,” said Ahmed al-Rawi, president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. “And that non-Muslims are part of their family and children of Allah.”
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But many noted that Muslims also need to take faster and more tangible steps to root out bigger problems, including radical movements and a sense of cultural isolation often expressed by young Muslims.
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Muslim communities have been under intense pressure to work with terrorism investigations following the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the blasts last year on London’s transit system. Anti-immigration groups — often focusing on Muslims — also have gained momentum following last year’s riots in France and the worldwide Muslim protests and riots over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
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In March, Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party launched a petition drive in opposition to the bid by mostly Muslim Turkey to join the European Union.
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This creates a vicious circle,” said Beate Winkler, director of the Vienna-based European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia. “Among Muslims this creates a feeling of helplessness and withdrawal from the larger community.”
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How much the so-called “Theology of Integration” can change this remains an open question. But the upheavals facing Muslims may have shaken some leaders into action, said Yousif Alkhoei, a director of the Al-khoei Foundation, a Muslim aid society with offices around the world.
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“We could be seeing the emergence of a new rational and pragmatic Muslim theology, which will bring the essence and spirit of Islam out in the open,” he said. “It will finally challenge some of the cultural baggage.”
sharif H said
Salam
This is regarding the Afghan man who converted to Christianity. First of all we are not God to judge him for his conversion. Secondly God says in the Holy Qoran this verse: Al-Baqara (The Cow) Baset – Hussari – Minshawi – English
2:256 Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. So who are we to hang Abdul Rahman??
My advice to all of you who claim to be Muslims is this, lets not waste our energy on why Abdul Rahman converted from Islam to Christianity, lets concentrate on how we can make this world a better place for all of us and try to do good deeds…
May Allah(God) bring peace to this world for everybody… Muslims, Jews and Christians.. Amen!
Ahmed Dawod said
HYPOTHESIS OF LIFE THAT CAN HARDLY BE IGNORED
by: ahmed dawod – unama kabul
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The most advance scientific instrument-aided hypothesis of Universe’s existence is about 15.80 billion years old and about 180 billion light-year wide. Should Earth exist about six billion years ago, we can then flush-back our projection to the chaotic period around 10 billion years on the Great Universal Evolution of Energy. Huge explosion thus causes the formation of planets and stars. Most likely, those were the great exodus and the general realignment of Universal Objects to their present positions.
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Lately, there are eight organic molecules with 6 to 8 atoms discovered in intergalactic space whereby one particular molecule found in Sagittarius B2(N), identified as acetamide, contains a type of chemical bond important for linking together amino acids, the molecular building blocks of proteins. Chances that several interpolations of those molecules interacted, forming some life-supporting elements showered our newly created planet. Indeed it took several period of incubation on this very Earth to attained micro-lives thus further evolved to us, where every generic composite are symmetrically the same from the origin. Say, Earth’s water ratio is the same ratio of water on our bodies. Elements abound this planet, are also found on our components and most likely of the same ratio too. Majority of oil deposits are between the two polar, as majority of our fats are located at the body’s midsection… etc.
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Way back around 3.5 billion years, occurrence of microspheriods, filamentous, microfossils and stromatolites provide strong support for existence of life much earlier that it was ever though possible. Before the end of Precambrian era, when oxygen level in the atmosphere was less than 10 percent, organisms from primordial soup – predecessors of protein and DNA – energy triggered by chemical reaction that formed primitive proto-organisms developed method of obtaining energy by combining oxygen with nutrients in a process called respiration. At first there was no demarcation between flora and fauna similarly to our present plankton that shared some characteristics of both, utilizing the photosynthesis and respiration. As more mobile complex form called metazoans evolved and totally relied on respiration, this animal form a predatory-prey relationship. In other phase, algae that live at the inter-tidal zone later developed into primitive form of lichen and moss. Then followed by tiny fernlike plants, which is the predecessor of trees.
At about 700 million years ago, marine animals developed internal skeleton, one of the most significant achievements in life’s long climb to evolutionary ladder. Vertebrates on the other hand, have internal skeleton that is light, strong and flexible with more attachments for the muscles.
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The first animal did not put their appearance until the plants were well established some 350 million years ago. Those were primitive amphibians. Fish with lobe fins modified into walking limbs and lung adapted for breathing air. What enticed those creatures to come ashore was abundance of food swept up on beaches during high tides and fierce competition of scare food on the ocean.
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During Mesozoic era, from 240 to 65 million years ago, life seen many remarkable advancement. Those species that made through the great extinction at the end of Paleozoic era where similar to populations found today. Thus was also the era that breaking up of Super Continent of Pangaea begun. Continents started to drift on their present positions. This must be the end of Cretaceous period (65 million years ago) when Dinosaurs became extinct and the formation of two permanent polar ice caps.
Our present ice epoch took place within the Quaternary period which consist of Pleistocene era (age of recent life) and the Holocene era (concurrent with the age of modern man) the last 10,000 years after the last ice age. Pleistocene era is synonymous to the most recent ice ages. What is outstanding about this particular ice epoch is that our ancestors appeared on the scene somewhere in Africa where temperature were warmer to support their existence just about when ice ages began some 2 million years. And of course, this is beyond the comprehension of those Desert Nomads who tried to record events on codices where Bible, Quran and other religious procrastination evolved.
God’s origin, based from thus inscriptions of clay tablets unearthed from the mound, believed to be the Kingdom of Mari, and the later refined-version found in the Dead Sea Scrolls was a cult-hypothetical creation of human prior to the first known kingdom. Like the present laws of the land, God indeed has several constitutions designed by individuals to suit their vested interest, to rule, control, govern and exploit humanity or even an essence to cling-on to enhance well-to-survive.
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Most known pseudo-religious cult pioneering dogmas were Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and the combination of both. Then Mithraism resulted to the evolution of dogmas and Judaism sprung to life on the blurred border of Christianity. Although Islamism came later and evolved from the combination of Judaism and Christianity, but practice the most fundamental, classical, rigorous and conservative dogma with punitive anathema. These pioneering cult-branches of religion and the latter-day sub-groupings of religious commercialism are all recipients and beneficiaries of the Creation of God by Mankind.
Ahmed Dawod is a native of Ghazni Province, Afghanistan who came back to Afghanistan to work in the Reconstruction Programme and presently attached to UNAMA – Kabul.