Rahman's family has denounced him as mentally ill. Afghan officials are thirsting for his blood. "We will cut him into little pieces," jail employee Hosnia Wafayosofi told the Chicago Tribune, as she "made a cutting motion with her hands."

The Tribune reported that prosecutor Abdul Wasi demanded Rahman's repentance and called him a traitor: "He is known as a microbe in society, and he should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim society and should be killed." The country's attorney general says Rahman should be hung. The judge handling the case, who has been photographed wielding Rahman's Bible as evidence against him, threatens: "If he doesn't regret his conversion, the punishment will be enforced on him. And the punishment is death."

This is a watershed moment in the post-Sept. 11 world. The Taliban are out of power. And yet today, an innocent man sits in the jail of a "moderate" Muslim nation praying for his life because he owned a Bible and refuses to renounce his Christian faith. Rahman, who converted many years ago while working for a Christian aid agency in Germany, "is standing by his words," fellow jail inmate Sayad Miakel told Canada's Globe and Mail. Another cellmate, Khalylullah Safi, reported: "He keeps looking up to the sky, to God."

As of Tuesday afternoon, left-wing Amnesty International had nothing to say about the case. But neither did President Bush, a man of faith and a Christian brother. During his extensive White House press conference on the War on Terror and the defense of freedom overseas, Bush spent plenty of time describing what life was like for Afghanis before Operation Enduring Freedom:

"There was no such thing as religious freedom. There was no such thing as being able to express yourself in the public square. There was no such thing as press conferences like this. They were totalitarian in their view. And that would be -- I'm referring to the Taliban, of course. And that's how they would like to run government. They rule by intimidation and fear, by death and destruction. And the United States of America must take this threat seriously and must not -- must never forget the natural rights that formed our country."

President Bush, who will defend Abdul Rahman's natural rights from being usurped and terminated by Afghanistan's Islamic executioners?

Tony Perkins at the Family Research Council raises the unpleasant question Bush evaded and no one in the White House press corps bothered to ask: "How can we congratulate ourselves for liberating Afghanistan from the rule of jihadists only to be ruled by Islamists who kill Christians? . . . President Bush should immediately send Vice President Cheney or Secretary Rice to Kabul to read [Afghan President] Hamid Karzai's government the riot act. Americans will not give their blood and treasure to prop up new Islamic fundamentalist regimes. Democracy is more than purple thumbs."

Embarrassingly, the governments of Italy and Germany have already stepped forward to make direct appeals to Karzai to save Rahman's life. Hamid Karzai has ducked the issue so far. Our feckless State Department is "monitoring" the situation.

If we sit on the sidelines and watch this man "cut into little pieces" for his love of Christ, we do not deserve the legacy of liberty our Founding Fathers left us. How about offering Rahman asylum in the United States? Perhaps Yale University, proud sponsor of former Taliban official Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, can offer Rahman a scholarship. Where's the Catholic Church, so quick to offer sanctuary to every last illegal alien streaming across the borders? And how about Hollywood, so quick to take up the cause of every last Death Row inmate?

Hello, anyone, hello?

--Michelle Malkin is a syndicated columnist and maintains her weblog at michellemalkin.com. She has also authored books such as Unhinged and In Defense of Internment.

*****

Canadian church groups furious over Afghan's trial for converting

By MICHAEL DEN TANDT AND ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ

Globe and Mail
March 22, 2006

OTTAWA and TORONTO — Canadian church groups and key players in the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan demanded yesterday that the Afghan government prevent the execution of a man arrested for converting to Christianity, but there were only cautious expressions of concern from Ottawa.

Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged by a Kabul court for his conversion from Islam 14 years ago, which contravenes Afghan law. The prosecutor is seeking the death penalty and a judge is expected to deliver a verdict in two weeks.

Response from the United States, Germany and Italy, all of which, like Canada, have troops in Afghanistan, was swift and unequivocal.

The United States raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens' constitutional right to choose their faith. Italy called in the Afghan ambassador to Rome, while two German cabinet ministers spoke out on the issue.

Most Rev. Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, called the Rahman case an example of fundamentalist fanaticism that raises doubts about Canada's involvement in Afghanistan.

"I'm absolutely horrified to think that this kind of fanatical literalism would be applied in this day and age," he said.

Franklin Pyles, president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, said his organization is appalled that Mr. Rahman's life is at risk because he converted to Christianity.

"We urge the Canadian government to step into this issue immediately and bring pressure to bear on this," he said. "If we are not going to fight for all freedoms, then what are we doing there?"

The United Church of Canada wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay asking that Canada work to protect Mr. Rahman and intervene with Afghan authorities on his behalf.

"We are aware of the government of Canada's support for the new government in Afghanistan, part of that support has included investing Canadian military troops and resources in the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Afghanistan to promote democratic rights," the letter says.

"In that light, we encourage you to share our hopes that a new Afghanistan will respect the universal declaration of human rights, including the rights of Afghans to choose and change religion without fear of losing their lives."

Reporters' questions to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mr. MacKay were referred to bureaucrats at the Department of Foreign Affairs, which issued a seven-point statement.

"This case is of concern," the statement read. "We are currently attempting to ascertain additional facts."

The statement noted that Afghanistan is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which enshrines freedom of religion, and that "Canada will continue to encourage the Afghan government to adhere to its human-rights obligations."

Asked whether the Canadian government would pressure the Afghan government to secure Mr. Rahman's release, Dan Dugas, a spokesman for Mr. MacKay, said, "We haven't reached that point yet."

Mr. Dugas said that the trial is still under way and that, should Mr. Rahman be sentenced to death, the Canadian government would likely intervene. "I would think so, yes," he said. "We would want to talk to the Afghan government to remind it of how it signed onto the international convention."

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Pamela Greenwell, asked whether Ottawa intends to discuss the case with Afghan officials, said "at this point we're looking into it, I don't know if we're there yet."

A telephone request for comment to the office of Public Security Minister Stockwell Day, who is identified with the Christian wing of the Conservative party and in opposition frequently spoke out on overseas human-rights issues, elicited no response yesterday.

Nor did similar calls to the offices of Tory backbench MPs Diane Ablonczy, David Anderson, Colin Carrie, Leon Benoit, and John Cummins.

Jason Kenney, the MP for Calgary Southeast, was the lone government MP available to comment on the issue yesterday. "This is very troubling. . . . I know that sharia [Islamic law] scholars would have different views on a question such as this. And I would hope that with Canadian soldiers risking their lives to establish the basic norms of democracy and respect for human rights in that country, I would hope that Afghanistan would live up to those standards."

Two opposition politicians reacted cautiously.

"I'm sure that our ambassador will be asked to make our views known," Liberal Leader Bill Graham said. ". . . It's very clear that our support for Afghanistan is a support that's based upon moving forward into a modern democratic situation. But let's leave the Afghan authorities a chance to deal with this particular challenge, to them, at this time."

NDP defence critic Dawn Black said it would be "appropriate for Canadian officials to indicate a real unease and concern about this."

The Christian and Missionary Alliance's Dr. Pyle called on Muslims in Canada to speak in support of Mr. Rahman.

"It is important that we hear from them and that they stand up on this issue calling for the same respect and freedom of religion for Mr. Rahman in Afghanistan as they themselves enjoy in Canada."

END