Philippine Atheists

So, the news is out.

Abdur Rahman has been released, under a deal brokered by the United Nations and the Italian government with the local authorities.

While the story itself turned out to be something of a saving grace for the United Nations, the Afghanistan MPs, however, didn’t seem too particularly pleased. They insisted that the apostate be dealt with a death penalty for this “unspeakable crime”.

According to Yunus Qanuni, president of the lower house of parliament in a debate before the assembly: “The release of Abdur Rahman was contrary to the existing laws of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman should not flee and should not be allowed to leave Afghanistan … he should be kept under supervision.” Several other MPs called for his execution, in a bid to warn other perpetrators. 1

Guess what the Bush Administration has to say with regards to the case?

“You are dealing with a young democracy but you are dealing with one that at least has a constitution that enshrines a declaration of human rights, that understands the international concern about this issue and is responsive to that,” - Condoleezza Rice, to reporters while on way to Germany.

A Constitution that demands the murder of a man who professes to be a member of another religion other than a state-declared religion suddenly becomes a proud declaration of human rights? Wow, what a wonderful Constitution! How about applying them to the United States Of Bushism? How about lynching those gays, lesbians, atheists and anyone who does not toe the line with the Christian creed on American soil?

Not only have the Bush Administration not interfered to secure the release of Abdur Rahman, they have the temerity to utter such profound nonsense. Such literal bullshit to explain the appalling barbarity of the Afghan Constitution is not only silly, it goes to prove that the Bush Administration has no respect for human rights whatsoever.

It seems to me that the new Afghan government, under the auspices of the invading Bush Administration, have nothing more to offer than those fundamentalist nutjobs of the Taliban gang.Democracy and freedom are but war rhetorics meant to pacify anti-warmongers.

AFGHAN CHRISTIANS: LIVING LIFE BY THE SWORD

While Rahman was lucky to escape with his head still intact, other Afghan Christians continue to live in abject fear and stoic silence:

Excerpts from Spiegel Online:

Afghan converts to Christianity lead dangerous lives and must keep their faith secret to avoid persecution by police, Islamists or even their own neighbors. Members of this secret society have to constantly keep looking over their shoulders.

Hashim Kabar is nervous. The 36-year-old is fidgeting with the plastic chair in his small office, looking repeatedly at his watch. His mobile phone keeps ringing and every few minutes he stands up and goes to the door of the small building. “Everything OK?” he asks the armed guard there, who is crouching next to the heavy steel door that has a small slit he can look out of. The guard nods and Kabar comes back. “I don’t have a good feeling about this today,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “Something tells me we’re going to have a visit.”

It’s difficult arranging meetings with people like Kabar. Time and again he postponed the appointment, then he asked that the location be changed. Finally the meeting takes place in his office. Brochures are lying about and a computer hums in the background, but nothing would indicate the subject of the conversation. There are no crucifixes on the wall, no Bibles on the shelves. Anything that could out him as a Christian has been put out of sight, out of fear. He is afraid that what happened to Abdul Rahman, another convert to Christianity, might happen to him.

The case of Rahman serves as proof to Afghan Christians that they live in extreme danger, simply because of their beliefs. Despite the fact that international pressure prevented Rahman from being sentenced and perhaps executed by Afghanistan’s justice system, Rahman’s story illustrates the extreme stress that those who turn away from Islam experience every day. “We must recognize that freedom of religion, as promised by the Afghan constitution, does not exist,” says Kabar, sadly. “But maybe it’s good that the international community is now aware of that.”

Kabar continues to describe life under the new Afghan Constitution:

But the disappearance of the Taliban has not made much of a difference for people like Kabar. Converts continue to be hunted down, thrown into prison or even killed by their neighbors. The West was largely unaware of the situation, and it was only by coincidence that Rahman’s case captured international attention. Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, is of little use to Christians. “Many in power in the judicial branch are imams or clerics who have little interest in the constitution,” says Kabar.

One wonders, though, if this is the case of deja-vu: Annexing one tyrant, only to be replaced by another tyrant. The only difference is, this time round, the new overlords of religious bigotry serve a new set of warmongers destined for world domination.

You can almost sense the feeling of dejection from Kabar’s statements, that life has not become better in the years of post-Taliban rule. All hopes of American-style democracy, freedom and justice had fallen flat on their faces.

The same religious fundies still hold the shots in government, and the majority of the population is still steeped in the ways of an archaic, religious way of life that demands absolute obeisance to one absolute religion.

1 Source: Yahoo News, Mar 29: Afghan MPs condemn release of Christian Convert

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