by Natasha Tynes | Mar 22, 2006 | Religion
It seems that the case of the Afghani Islam-to-Christian convert is attracting attention from the international community. One of the more outspoken is Amnesty International, which released a statement condemning the acts of the Afghani authorities.
Amnesty International today called on the Afghan authorities to urgently commit themselves to judicial reform and the upholding of international standards as Abdul Rahman, 41, reportedly faces calls for his execution in connection with his reported conversion from Islam to Christianity.
As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the government of Afghanistan is bound to uphold Article 18, which provides that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and that "this right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice."
I’m assuming that due to international pressure, Afghnistan has suddently found itself between a rock and hard place and deciced to declare this man unfit for trial, as he might just be "mad."
Prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said questions have been raised about his mental fitness. "We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn’t talk like a normal person," he told The Associated Press.
No comment!
UPDATE: The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called for the release of Abdul Rahman, saying the man’s conversion was a personal matter and not subject to the intervention of the state. Here are some excerpts from their press release:
Islamic scholars say the original rulings on apostasy were similar to those for treasonous acts in legal systems worldwide and do not apply to an individual’s choice of religion. Islam advocates both freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, a position supported by verses in the Quran, Islam’s revealed text. …We urge the government of Afghanistan to order the immediate release of Mr. Abdul Rahman.
by Natasha Tynes | Mar 20, 2006 | Religion
This morning I read disturbing news about an Afghan that converted to Christianity and now might be facing the death penalty for choosing a religion different from Islam.
A man could be sentenced to death after being charged with converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under Afghanistan’s shariah laws, a judge said yesterday. The trial is thought to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam will take four years after the fall of the Taliban.
Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told Associated Press. The accused was charged with rejecting Islam. During the one-day hearing on Thursday, the defendant allegedly confessed to converting to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Judge Mawlavezada said. Source: [The Guardian]
What’s really disturbing about all this, in my opinion, is that this is happening in the supposedly post-Taliban era. It is no secret that those that covert to Christianity in the Arab and the Muslim world get harassed, but to be threatened with death is really horrendous.
Sadly enough, Jordan is another country where converts to Christianity will not only be ostracized, but will be also harassed by the authorities. To be fair, anyone changing religion in Jordan, whether from Islam to Christianity or vise versa, faces social ostracization. The difference, though, is that in the case of converting to Christianity one can expect to spend some time behind bars as was the case with a Jordanian couple I blogged about last year.
Ask Samer and Abeer. Last September Jordanian security police connected to the country’s Mukhabarat, or intelligence agency, showed up at the couple’s home unannounced. They arrested Samer and detained him overnight. Samer’s crime: coming to faith in Jesus Christ 14 years ago. Originally a Muslim, Samer over the years since his conversion has been questioned several times by security police but never detained. This time, the police turned him over to the Islamic courts. The judges convicted Samer of apostasy. In a Nov. 23 decision the court decreed that his identification papers must be changed from "Muslim" to "no religion;" that he had forfeited any inheritance; that his marriage to Abeer is now illegal and therefore he is not entitled to custody of his son.
The US State Department 2005 report on religious freedom in Jordan also mentions this issue :
Members of unrecognized religious groups and converts from Islam face legal discrimination and bureaucratic difficulties in personal status cases. Converts from Islam additionally risk the loss of civil rights. There is no statute that expressly forbids proselytizing Muslims. However, Shari’a courts have the authority to prosecute proselytizers.
I’m fully aware that this topic is very controversial so I’m not going to say much besides reiterating what I said last year: In my humble, unbiased opinion I think that if Jordan intends to tread on a truly democratic path, then its citizens should be given the basic right of practicing a religion of their own choosing.
by Natasha Tynes | Mar 19, 2006 | Film
We just finished watching Hani Abu Asad’s Rana’s Wedding, and what a delight it was. The movie, which was made in 2002, tells the story of a young Palestinian woman who is madly in love and desperately wants to get married to the man of her dreams before 4 PM.
While pursuing her desires, Rana faces many hurdles stemming from both the traditions of her society and Israeli occupation. The movie’s ultimate message is that happiness can still be attained regardless of the circumstances life throws at you. Rana’s Wedding is definitely a must see! Two thumbs up at the Tynes house! I have to admit, though, the movie made me incredibly homesick. It is worth noting that this film was made available to us through the incredbile library of Netflix. At this stage of my life, I can’t seem to recall life before Netflix. What an amazing service.
by Natasha Tynes | Mar 16, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch
The US Department of State recently launched its Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005. This is what they said about Jordan:
Although the government respected human rights in some areas, its overall record continued to reflect problems. The following human rights problems were reported:
- restrictions on the right of citizens to change their government
- allegations of torture
- continued police abuse and reported mistreatment of detainees
- arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention
- instances of impunity
- denial of due process of law
- limited judicial independence
- infringement on citizens’ privacy rights
- harassment of members of opposition political parties
- restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, association and movement
- restrictions on some religious practices
- legal and societal discrimination against women
- "honor" crimes
- child abuse
- discrimination against Palestinians
- restrictions on labor rights
- abuse of foreign domestic workers
You can read the full report here. When it comes to restrictions on freedom of speech and press, the report is dead on. The latest example: those brilliant Jordanian MPs asking for further restrictions on press freedom in Jordan (in Arabic) by allowing the jailing of journalists. Jordanian blogger Khalaf has written a brilliant post on the whole charade. Here is an excerpt:
Anyway, the National Guidance Committee in the house yesterday recommended reinstating jail crimes [Arabic] relating to "insulting fathers of three monotheistic religions and their prophets," and crimes of disrespect to the king, as well as any case where a judge might see fit a jail sentence. The last one actually covers everything one might imagine. The committee left the recommended elevated fines in place and added the jail option. I am surprised that they didn’t recommend dunking the offenders in boiling oil as well. The retarded parliament rejects tough sentences against so-called honor killings, but thinks that un-orthodox views should never be expressed, and should be punished by unreasonably tough measures. I’m nauseous.
Meanwhile, Abu Aardvark points to an Al-Quds Al-Arabi article (in Arabic) that says: "Jordan’s official TV station has just been yanked out of the hands of the relatively liberal Mustafa Hamarneh." The Aardvark comments:
Hamarneh had been trying to revamp Jordan TV, amidst great controversy and political struggles, though I couldn’t say how much success he’d had. The changes put JTV back in the hands of conservative figures, some of whom reportedly lack any experience whatsoever in television or even the media. Though there may well be some personal politics beneath the surface here, the net result strikes me as very bad. I’m looking forward to the expected launch of the private satellite television station by the owners of the liberal newspaper al-Ghad.
These are indeed dark days for press freedom in Jordan.
by Natasha Tynes | Mar 15, 2006 | Jordan, my nation
IRIN, the United Nations news agency, ran a feature disclosing that Jordanian citizens currently living in 40 of the kingdom’s municipalities are living below the poverty line. Yes, that’s 40 out of 110 municipalities out there! And you wonder why Jordanians are teased about being grim! I mean really, is this not just a killer!
Jordanians in 40 out of 101 of the country’s municipalities live below the poverty line despite an overall decline in national poverty levels over the past few years, according to a senior government official. Twenty of these municipalities, meanwhile, are considered extremely poor.
"There are still 40 municipalities in Jordan where people live below the poverty line, and 20 of them registered the highest rate of poverty," said Ministry of Social Development Secretary-General Mahmoud Alaymat at a recent lecture at the Jordanian University of Science and Technology. The 20 "very poor" municipalities include those in the governorates of Mafraq and Zarqa, north-east of Amman, some districts within the capital and certain municipalities along the Jordan Valley, explained Alaymat.
But … in all of this there is a little sprinkling of relatively good news:
In Jordan, the poverty line is equated with a yearly income of US$553 per capita. According to official data, the percentage of the population living at or under this figure is 14 percent, down from 21.3 percent in 1997.
Source: [IRIN]
