Abdul Rahman Seeking Asylum

ABC News & AP are reporting that Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man facing execution for his conversion to Christianity, is seeking asylum outside Afghanistan after charges against him were dropped this weekend. A story in today's Financial Times, however, indicates that charges could be refiled amid questions raised by the judge in the case about Rahman's citizenship status and mental health. The FT quotes the judge as saying "There will be a reinvestigation by the attorney general's office and then they will decide whether to reopen this case." Two Afghan legal officials quoted by the FT also raised the possibility that Rahman could be allowed to leave the country for medical treatment. A Reuters story quotes State Department Sean McCormack as saying that Rahman "will be released", followed by a reference to "potential onward travel." It seems likely that the following scenario is already in motion:

• Abdul Rahman is released from custody for mental and/or medical evaluation.
• Evaluation and/or treatment outside Afghanistan is recommended.
• Rahman travels to a Western country (U.S., Canada, Italy, Germany, U.K.) for evaluation and/or treatment, with the unwritten understanding that said country will look favorably upon an asylum.
• Rahman requests and is granted asylum on grounds of religious persecution.

This allows everyone to save face and claim some degree of victory. The Islamofascists in Afghanistan can point to the fact that conversion from Islam is still illegal under penalty of death, and claim credit for chasing the infidel out of their homeland. The West can say "We saved Abdel Rahman" and claim a victory for religious freedom. But before we go patting ourselves on the back and congratulating ourselves on a job well done, remember this:

• Converting from Islam to Christianity (or any other faith) is still a crime punishable by death under sharia law in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.
• It is a crime in many Islamic countries to preach the Christian gospel, or to do anything to incite (!) a Muslim to convert from Islam. (For example, Persecution.org reports a Presidential order in Algeria signed in February that punishes evangelism or proselytizing with 2 to 5 years in prison and fines up to 1 million dinars (U.S. $14,000).)
• Islamofascist mobs will be more than happy to enforce the death penalty if their government isn't. (Michelle Malkin, The Lynch Mob Is Ready....)
• Christians in every Islamic country (and some non-Islamic ones as well) face persecution to at least some degree - worse in some than others, but always there. (Persecution.org lists 27 countries in which Christians suffer "persecution or severe discrimination" - including American allies such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates.)
• It took a week to get anything more than mealy-mouthed platitudes and hollow half-threats out of the State Department, White House, Amnesty International and CAIR.

Michelle Malkin quite rightly suggests that, in light of our history of embracing religious freedom, the United States "should be first in line to offer Abdul Rahman a safe haven." I doubt our State Department has the, um, "testicular fortitude" to make the offer. (I don't think Michelle does either, as she describes Sean McCormack's comments today as a "you're-on-your-own attitude"). Technorati: Abdul Rahman