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30 March 2006
yeah, the needle has stuck
Time sarcastically reports on Abdul Rahman's 'family values'.
However none of the statements in the complaint cited by Time actually state Rahman beat his father or daughters.
Unemployed. Well I reckon you are likely to be in Afghanistan, especially if you openly proclaim you are a Christian. And Rahman's statement confirms he is in financial hardship.
Lazy. OK that's not a nice but it could be a symptom of depression with which he struggles - and which has been confirmed by aid workers who knew him. I really still do want to know Rahman's history while he was in Europe. Where he was detained, where he applied for visas, why he was rejected, how and why he ended up back in Afghanistan. Was he deported? And if he was detained for the better part of his absence from Afghanistan, it's not like we haven't heard of severe depression of long time detainees either.
Cruel. So how was he cruel? What are some examples of his cruelty? That he couldn't pay child support? Or was he cruel perhaps because he "tried to change the ethics" of his children?
If Rahman did beat his father or his daughters, why wasn't he charged with that? Is it because
a) beating your family, particulaly women be they wives or daughters, is allowed under precious Islamic-based Afghani law; or
b) there is no evidence; or
c) it never happened in the first place
I mean, we have never heard of trumped up charges and persecution of Christians in Afghanistan ever have we?
I should add that Rahman's father is illiterate. And for all I know the girls may be too. But the family is now in hiding so one can't confirm their statements.
In any case, Rahman was not charged for his 'family values' o lemonheaded Ms Morarjee. Instead he was charged with apostasy from Islam and threatened with hanging. Did you think to ask Colonel Mohammed Saber Monseffi why that was? I doubt it.
I am still figuring on a custody dispute (and under sharia law, Rahman ironically as father would generally retain legal custody unless he was 'insane') or intimidation of the family by conservatives not to have a vocal Christian around. Or just fear by the family: Rahman leaves for eight years, returns a non-Muslim. That would be hard to swallow. Hence this "complex case" according to Afghan authorities.
Rahman is apparently with U.N. authorities; Italy has offered him asylum - cabinet voted yes unanimously (onya!). Afghan politicians don't want to release him yada yada says CBS.
Too bad.
Spiegel reports he is already out of the country on his way to Italy by military aircraft. The State Department in Rome expected him to arrive "soon, possibly even today" according to one official.
Two other Christians are still being held. And who knows what might befall the family given some of the lunatics floating around that country. Never mind the cancer still there, because the West left it there and the conservative dominated, uneducated cleric-based 7th century-minded judiciary. And the continuing appalling state of human rights even in so called "secure and peaceful" Kabul.
Remember to remind our Canberra based Afghan envoy frequently.
Remind him what these guys died for.
****
And thank you Matthias Gebauer in Kabul, for not just better reporting than most about this affair but also for bringing the plight of Afghani Christians to attention. As one Afghani Christian said:
Abdul Rahmans Freilassung ist schön", sagt er. "Doch das Ausland sollte auch weiterhin die Augen offen halten."
Open your eyes folks. And keep your eyes open.
***
Update: from what I can tell, Rahman spent time in Greece, Germany and Belgium but his circumstances and his residential status and how/why he returned to Afghanistan remain unclear. One report says a visa application for Beligium failed. Another suggests he was deported by Germany.
I've already mentioned that Afghanistan's time table for elections, constitution etc was drawn up by the Germans. Under the terms of the December 2002 Bonn Agreement on Afghan reconstruction, Italy assumed the lead country role for rebuilding the judiciary and supporting the restructuring of the legal system. The work - including training of judges, reviews of criminal and civil codes and the like - has been contracted to various organisations.
Much as I despise and detest war, I had no qualms about the war in Afghanistan. Up until a year or so ago I had more hope for Afghanistan then I did for Iraq, much as I have been critical of efforts there. Rahman's case just highlighted what little progress has been made. It may be time to sack a few "contractors", redraw some plans for constitutional and judicial reform, tie them up with purse strings and send them over with big guns to help do the job of ridding Afghanistan of such farcical Hanafi jurisprudence. I reckon there would still be plenty of Afghanis who would welcome that with flowers and chocolate.
***
Update 2: Mollie at Get Religion casts a journalistic eye over the shoddy journalism of the lemonheaded Ms Morarjee
***
Update 3: Todd Nettleton from Voice of the Martyrs. My highlighting in green:
1. Persecution-watchers have been amazed that Rahman's case made it into international media at all. There are many other believers in his state in the country who have suffered this kind of injustice in quiet oblivion. What happened in his case was the local judge handling the case getting a little full of himself and going on regional Afghan TV to brag about it a bit and stir up the populace. That was just enough to catch the edge of the Internet/media wave, and boom, the world knows everything. Nettleton told my audience that this may have been a mercy of God to reveal this problem to the world. Now that Rahman has landed safely in Italy, he may serve as a long term media reminder of persecution by Muslims.
2. Todd also revealed to us that according to his in-country sources, Rahman may indeed be suffering from depression and other mental issues. [this has now come from a couple of sources in Afghanistan- saint] So this indeed allowed both political sides in this thing to have a face saving way out in this case. Otherwise, we would still be in a standoff here. The depression condition may have saved Rahman's life and given us an emerging opportunity to talk about this issue and win the lives of future Afghan Christians in the docket. (Two more were arrested last week and face the same chages Rahman did).
Most Afghani Christians were executed under the Taliban and church buildings razed to the ground (yes there were many churches throughout Afghanistan). In today's Afghanistan, Afghani Christians whose numbers have been estimated from 1000 to 6000 - will still generally not keep a Bible or wear any crosses or "mark" themselves in any way, meeting in secret, usually in homes. They will present themselves as Muslims; many will also know the standard Muslim prayers. They don't have a choice. Ironically, Rahman's depression may have emboldened him as well. If you find that odd, it isn't. God has this habit of using the weak and powerless to shame the "powerful" and the "wise".
(Image from TV footage)
Another thought. I don't know what language Bible Rahman is holding here. It may have been a Pashto New Testament. If so, it would have been the translation by the legendary Bishop Jens Christensen, a Lutheran pastor, theologian and missionary, who along with his wife, a nurse, served the Pathans in the North West Frontier region of Pakistan for decades. Still fondly remembered and respected in that area.
One of our local Anglican ministers, a former missionary to Pakistan who also knew Christensen, has arranged for one of his classic books to be republished. Now renamed "Mission to Islam" . Available free in PDF at several sites and also for purchase including here. While its focus is on missions, it's recommended reading for all Christians who want to read how a Christian pastor-theologian with a formidable scholarly knowledge of Islam, decades of lived experience of Islam and known for his love and understanding of the Pathans understands Islam. Not for today's compromising Western scholar.
***
Update 4: Irfan Kahwaha on "Academic Apologists for Shariah: The Real Meaning of the Abdul Rahman Case" (via Dhimmi Watch):
If there is a useful lesson for Americans in the Abdul Rahman affair, it's this: what the fields of Islamic Studies and Near East Studies need today--but completely lack--are scholars who are willing to give Islam the frontal challenge it so richly deserves. And by "challenge," I decidedly don't mean the milquetoast sort of "challenge" one finds in writers like Daniel Pipes or Bernard Lewis, who criticize Islamism but leave Islam itself untouched. Nor do I even mean the sort of "challenge" one finds in scholars like Patricia Crone or Michael Cook, whose muted criticisms of Islam come in the form of indirection and insinuation. I mean scholars capable of entertaining the hypothesis that Islam is false and irrational as such, and are willing to deal with it accordingly.
Sounds like you need some theologians to help you.
Faced with such critics from outside of the field, the reigning stars of the field have nothing to offer in rebuttal but defamation. But for precisely that reason, they have nothing to offer in defense of the Abdul Rahmans of the world. We hard-core secularists are the only critics of Islam capable of offering the sort of defense that the Abdul Rahmans of the world deserve—the one that cuts to the heart of the matter.
Oh I don't know, if you read Christensen and other Christians, they may have been a few hundred years ahead of you. Except they also add another ingredient: love.
I mean, why is it then that most apologists for Islam are Muslim or secular? And that secular fundamentalism and separation of church and state exists today, largely thanks to freedom brought to you by Christians?
Still, the rest of Kahwha is worth a read.
***
Update 5: Samir Khalil Samir, Jesuit, has a long rant about Abdul Rahman and says what I was trying to say in my very long rant far more eloquently: Islam humiliates religious freedom of Christians and human rights of Muslims. It’s time for change.
Der Spiegel has now provided an English translation of Gebauer's article on Afghani Christians in its online international edition. And the question is what has happened to the other two Christians who were recently arrested in Afghanistan as well and face similar charges?
One thing's for sure, thanks to a cock-sure petty local official, Abdul Rahman is now a household name and more and more people are waking up to the problem that is Islam. Bloggers from all over the globe are commenting. Bizmallah in Uzbekistan at Al-Jack, in what I am sure is a parody site because it's seriously detached from reality and hysterically funny - does not consider there is anything wrong with denying a person basic human rights just resort instead to lies and slander. What do you expect. You become like unto what you worship. Hey, maybe Bizmallah isn't a parody but a paradigm?
Hey whaddya know, the Taliban want Jihad, complete with cries of treason to the Islamic nation and threats and intimidation for the local population to comply. Yep, that's the paradigm: we are lawmaker, policeman, prosecuting attorney, judge, jury, jailer and executioner.
***
Update 6: Brief comments from Rahman from Italy thanking the U.N. and the Pope.
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amen to all that brother
Posted by: Bring Back EP at LP at 30/03/2006 7:53:09 AM
I knew Jens Christensen and I believe he would not have been pleased with the way you are quoting him, nor the reasons for your quotes.
Jen was far more disappointed with missionaries then he was with those who adhered to Islam. He was very clear about the differences between Islam and Christianity and felt that most missionaries were not. He respected the adherents to Islam, many missionaries, he did not. Furthermore, on another sight you quote Jens as saying the “if†is on the side of men. This is not something Jens ever said. If it is in his book, it was inserted by editors who wished to assert their own theology.
Posted by: Margaret Kane at 21/11/2006 10:34:52 AM
Margaret thanks for stopping by. I think you are misreading me. And I suspect something else has gotten under your skin.
In the above post I wondered about the Bible translation in a photo and did not quote Jens.
In another recent post I quoted Jens - which I think refers to the 'if' to which you took exception (I'm only guessing because you have not been specific). Yes Margaret that is a direct quote from one of his books. And as you have failed to provide evidence of a very serious charge that the editors have tampered with the manuscript I am chosing to ignore your assertion.
If you have evidence then you are best writing to the editors directly and showing them your evidence, like an earlier edition of the book or similar. If you want the publication details for the bit that I quoted email me and I will send them to you.
I have no doubt that Jens was quite clear about differences between Christianity and Islam - and was able to express those differences quite clearly. That is why I like his writing - better than the woolly headed nonsense one is likely to hear these days. And I have no doubt that he loved and respected Muslims. You weren't the only one who knew him. He was known for it.
This is why he remains well respected long after his death.
Posted by: saint at 21/11/2006 12:01:44 PM
I accept your comments. I do apologize if I have misunderstood you. I was “reactingâ€. I felt that you were about the business of proving that the Moslem is inferior to the Christian and that no good can come from a Moslem. If my reading had been correct, then, I am sure Jens would not have wanted his name included in such an endeavor. There are as many patient, kind and compassionate Moslems are there are Christians. Goodness is as much a part of humanity as is treachery. There are as many hateful, intolerant, and terrorist Christians as there are Moslems. The doctrine of a particular religion does not change this. Again, I do apologize for not understanding your words.
Posted by: Margaret Kane at 22/11/2006 6:03:36 AM
PS-Jens was my godfather.
Posted by: Margaret Kane at 22/11/2006 6:07:03 AM
Well it's an honour to meet you then Margaret. And I am sorry that my words were open to misinterpretation. Jens was a mentor for a few who taught me (and I am not even Lutheran) which is how I learnt about him. Full credit to you for defending his good name and his legacy. He was a great man of our faith from whom we can still learn.
Posted by: saint at 22/11/2006 6:19:31 AM
Thank you for your gentleness and grace. I too am honoured to have had this discussion with you. I am profoundly moved by your knowledge of Jens' work. He truly was a great theologian. I remember sneaking into his office, sitting under his desk and look up at his ink drawings of Martin Luther, Kierkegarrd, and Calvin. Jens was also an artist, and as a child, what impressed me the most was that he could write in Danish with one hand and Pushto with the other (at the same time)! I wish, for you and your loved ones, safety and peace.
Posted by: Margaret Kane at 23/11/2006 3:10:03 AM
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