Afghan Christian Faces Trial for Alleged Conversion from Islam

by leavingwt 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  leavingwt

  NATO forces have been in this hellhole for nine years and people still don't have religious freedom?

  Afghan Christian Faces Trial for Alleged Conversion from Islam

  An Afghan Christian, detained for months for allegedly converting to Christianity from Islam, could face trial as early as next week - and could face a potential death penalty, officials said Sunday.

  Said Musa was arrested by Afghan Interior Ministry intelligence authorities near the German Embassy in Kabul because of the allegations, said Qamaruddin Shenwari, director of the Kabul courts' north zone. The exact date of his arrest is not known.

  The case against Musa has not yet been finalized, said Mohammad Najim Hamidi, director of public security at Zone 3 of the Kabul courts. He could face trial next week if the case is prepared by then, Hamidi said. It was earlier thought Musa's trial would begin on Sunday.

  The Afghan Constitution does not mention converting from one religion to another, so the judge will take Islamic law into account, officials said.

  "According to Afghanistan's constitution, if there is no clear verdict as to whether an act is criminal or not in the penal code of the Afghan Constitution, then it would be referred to sharia law where the judge has an open hand in reaching a verdict," Shenwari said.

  Under sharia law, converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death.

  It was not immediately clear where Musa was being held and whether he has access to his attorney or relatives.

  The U.S. State Department said last week in its annual International Religious Freedom Report that "respect for religious freedom" decreased in Afghanistan in the last year, "particularly toward Christian groups and individuals."

  Christians, Hindus and Sikhs - as well as Muslims whose practices don't satisfy the government or society - suffer "intolerance in the form of harassment, occasional violence, discrimination and inflammatory public statements," the report said. It estimated the Afghan Christian community ranges from 500 to 8,000 people.

  http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/21/afghan-christian-faces-trial-for-alleged-conversion-from-islam/
• 

  sabastious

  Middle Easten Islam policy is so similar to the Witnesses it's scary.

  -Sab
• 

  leavingwt

  New Afghan War Plans Could Cost US Taxpayers an Extra $125 Billion

  . . .

  So how much extra would it cost if the bulk of the withdrawal starts rather than finishes around 2014? About $125 billion, says Mr. Harrison at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, at that's just through 2014. He uses two different troop level scenarios – one high, and one low. He calculates costs based $1.1 million per soldier per year, which reflects the five-year average in Afghanistan.

  The lower cost – $288 billion – assumes that the troops involved in Obama’s surge would be withdrawn by 2012, and that by the end of 2014 only 30,000 US troops would remain. The higher cost – $413 billion – assumes no drawdown will happen until 2013, and 70,000 US troops would remain by the end of 2014. The difference: $125 billion.

  Another defense analyst, Anthony Cordesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has a slightly higher estimate at $441 billion. That jumps to $476.5 billion by including State Department expenses and immediate medical costs for veterans.

  But he says nothing can be read into the talk about 2014.

  “The nice thing about 2014 politically is that by then you’ve either won, in which case the deadline doesn’t really matter anymore … or if you haven’t succeeded you are out any way,” Dr. Cordesman says.

  Both Harrison and Cordesman caution that future cost estimates are difficult to make.

  “There’s no good way of doing it,” says Harrison. “It depends on intensity of operations, the number of troops we have deployed, and it also depends on the mission that we give them.”

  Some missions are more costly. For instance, the Pentagon has reportedly decided to dispatch tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the war. That will add to the price tag given the fuel and transport costs.

  “The enemy [also] gets a voice how much this is going to cost us,” says Harrison.

  . . .

  http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/1119/New-Afghan-war-plans-could-cost-US-taxpayers-an-extra-125-billion
• 

  james_woods

  Under sharia law, converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death.

  Rather ironic that a judge just stayed the start of an Oklahoma law (supported by 70% of the populace) which makes it illegal for Oklahoma courts to take into account Sharia or other foreign law systems in their legal cases.
• 

  Justitia Themis

  it illegal for Oklahoma courts to take into account Sharia or other foreign law systems in their legal cases.

  Overbroad. We routinely respect and apply foreign law systems in international cases. The law was good for a laugh in our Civil Procedures class however. Thank you Oklahoma lawmakers for a much welcome law-school moment of levity.
• 

  james_woods

  I just somehow knew Justitia Themis would be here to support Islam and Sharia law.

  Seriously, Justitia - why don't you just join the Islamic religion? I drove Corvettes and Porsches for years, always admiring the Ferrari - and finally I bought a real twelve cylinder Ferrari.

  I felt much better after I did - it was what I really wanted after all.
• 

  Justitia Themis

  Sigh...I didn't mention Islam. I said we routinely respect other government's laws. Those governments include France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Portugal, etc., etc., and include agreements, like treaties, NAFTA, etc.

  If you had taken a moment to process the information you read instead of overly-emotionally reacting, you would have been able to deduce such from my mention of civil procedure. :)

  Every time there is a case between a U.S. plaintiff and a foreign person/corporation, one of the first issues to be decided is whose civil procedure rules will be used, or how will we blend the two. Again...THANK YOU Oklahoma dufus lawmakers for thinking you had the right to legislate such boundaries.

  On a personal note, I feel Sharia law has no place in the U.S. Also, congratulations on figuring out the important things in your life...like which kind of car you want to drive. Why am I not surprised that that was an accomplishment for you.
• 

  james_woods

  Well, here I think I have seen the outer limit of Islamic/Sharia apologetics - and from our usual suspect.

  We have a thread in which an Afghan man is being threatened with the death penalty under Sharia law - simply because he converted from Islam to Christianity.

  Justitia Themis does not denounce this obvious violation of human rights - but chooses to call Oklahoma lawmakers a bunch of doofuses because they created a statute saying that Sharia law will not be used in Oklahoma court cases. A largely symbolic law, of course, but sensible when you consider the implications of a law (Sharia) which threatens people with death for changing their religion.

  I would strongly suggest that the Afghan lawmakers are the doofus, not those in Oklahoma.
• 

  Justitia Themis

  I would strongly suggest that the Afghan lawmakers are the doofus, not those in Oklahoma.

  I would strongly suggest that BOTH sets of lawmakers are doofuses (is that a word? is plural of doofus, doofi? )