A person has the right of choice of religion. This is believed by most Americans. I fear that denying this right to Mr. Rahman will undermine American support for Afghanistan.
I support this petition. Mr. Rahman deserves a life free of religious tyranny. America did not fight for this tryanny of Islam to be used against its own people. Free him. Before you show that Islam has no place in a civilized world that believes in tolerance, fairness, and justice.
The execution of Abdul Rahman would not only be a grave injustice, it would also be an insult to the numerous christian soldiers who have fought and died for afghan freedom and an enduring shame to all of Islam and the Afghan people.
Where are the protests in the streets of "moderate" Muslims against this barbarism? Why do we not see and hear our good Muslim friends and neigbors speaking out against this sort of all too common event?
It is more clear than ever that so-called 'moderate' Islam - a version of Islam that does NOT punish apostasy by death, actually believes that infidels ought to be treated equally to Muslims, and abrogates the violent jihad - is a fabrication. Such a faith does not exist. In fact it has never existed throughout human history. And cannot exist, if one is to take the teachings of Mohammed seriously.
Or will the man who has located 'moderate Islam' and its practitioners please stand up immediately?
Troops from the U.S. and its allies have made tremendous sacrifices to set the people of Afghanistan free from oppression under the Taliban. It's a slap in these soldiers' faces to have a man under penalty of death for choosing a different faith from that of his countrymen.
I support this petition and I am in prayer that God will give him strenth and peace in abundance to meet this ordeal. He is not insane; he found the truth in Jesus Christ. I pray that his life will be spared in accordance with your own constitution. But if it is not, perhaps some Afghans will start to question the decency of the "religion of peace". Furthermore I will write my representatives in Congress today. There is no point in shedding Christian blood and money in protecting and re-building Afghanistan. Islam is simply unable by its nature to tolerate human rights.
I support this petition. My fellow soldiers did not fight and die for the Afghans, helping to institute a culture of religious pluralism, to have this happen.
Your country has been freed from the Taliban, yet your constitution is now being interpreted as if the Taliban were still in power.
Your constitution says that people are free to practice their religion. I do not see any exceptions in that clause, but of course I am only looking at a draft version from 2004.
If your Sharia law says that a man must be killed for converting from Islam, then the law is either wrong or being wrongly interpreted. You cannot have laws like this and expect to be called civilized.
The world did nothing except give a low moan when the Taliban destroyed the Buddha images. The world did nothing when the Taliban enslaved your country, until the United states and its real friends came to free you.
We did not send our people there to shed their blood to free you from fear and slavery - to put you on a path to democracy, economic and religious freedom only to see your country allow the insane to govern.
Should Abdul Rahman be killed for converting to Christianity 16 years ago it will be the wrong thing to do by any kind of civilized standards.
If, as I have read, his family turned him in, it shows that the 'new' Afghanistan is in reality, no different than a Nazi or Stalinist regime. I hope that common sense and compassion will prevail, but if not, then the chance for a bright Afghanistan future will have gone away, and there will be consequences.
This must be stopped. Please do your utmost to prevent this travesty.
Imagine the response in the Islamic world if American Christians were to execute, under full sanction of US law, each and every convert to Islam! What was the point of ending Taliban rule if their antediluvian mindset still rules in Afghanistan? I support this petition and ask that Abdul Rahman be spared.
