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April 3, 2006

Can Islam and democracy coexist in Afghanistan?

Topics: Abdul Rahman

.... asks Jean MacKenzie and Wahidullah Amani of The Institute for War & Peace, who say that at issue now that Abdul Rahman is safe in Italy, is whether Afghanistan can be both a democratic state and an Islamic republic:

(...) The contradiction is enshrined in Afghanistan's new constitution, Article 7 of which states that the country supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with its unambiguous mandate of religious freedom. But Article 3 states just as clearly that Islamic law takes precedence over any other legal considerations.

(...) International religious scholars may debate the finer points of Islamic law regarding the Abdul Rahman affair. But within Afghanistan there is a clear and harsh consensus: he deserves to die.

(...) "Islam states that those who convert to another religion should be killed," said Abdul Malik Kamawi, deputy chairman of the Supreme Court.

(...) "We cannot forget the dictates of Islam or of God," said Maulawi Habibullah Hassam, a religious scholar who heads Kabul's provincial council. "According to Islam, the punishment for apostasy is death. If a Muslim converts to another religion, he puts 1.5 billion Muslims in danger. They will think, 'This man was with us, but now he is leaving."'

(...) The sentiment on the street was equally as strong.

(...) "I thank my God that I am a Muslim," said Ahmad Farhad, 25, who sells car parts in a Kabul market. "We hate people like Abdul Rahman. He should be killed. If they give him to me, I will cut him into small pieces with a knife."

(...) Hassam of Kabul's provincial council complained that his government was kowtowing to its foreign allies.

(...) "This is a trick (played) on the Afghan people," he said. "What the government and the international community are doing is contrary to Islam. Some countries have said that if Abdul Rahman is killed, they will withdraw their soldiers. That means that they came here with their tanks to convert Afghans to Christianity."

After reading these excerpts, readers should have no problem understanding why the authors question the compatibility of Islam and democracy in Afghanistan. Just how one would go about even having a rational conversation with people that think and believe like those described here - is quite beyond my comprehension.

I have Muslim friends from Afghanistan that live here in America, and they themselves would probably throw their hands in the air in disgust over what is being said by many Muslims in Afghanistan today.

Posted by Richard at April 3, 2006 9:51 PM

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