Afghan man faces death for converting to Christianity

Received via email from Bruce Hempel:

Dear ones,

Please pray for Abdul Rahman, an Afghan man who is facing a possible death sentence for converting to Christianity. Under Muslim shariah law, it is punishable by death to convert from Islam to any other religion.

Please also pray that the news from this case will serve to break Islam's hold on Afghanistan.

Bruce

> From: Wendy Hempel
> Subject: Afghan Man Faces Death for Allegedly Converting to Christianity
> Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 07:08:29 -0800
>
> Afghan Man Faces Death for Allegedly Converting to Christianity
> FOX News
>
> We should pray for this man.
> Wendy
>
> Click on the URL below for the rest of this story:
> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188364,00.html
>

More coverage can be found at:

Update

Dear ones,

This is part of a CNN article about Abdul Rahman, the Afghan Christian
who is facing possible execution for refusing to convert from Christianity
back to Islam.

I highly recommend his statements in the article below. He has a strong
faith and knows what he is doing, despite attempts to portray him as
crazy so the government will have a pretext to free him. He is willing
to lay down his life to be true to Christ.

Please keep him in your prayers, and all of Afghanistan and the Islamic world.

Bruce

- - - - - - - - -

Afghan convert moved to prison

Sunday, March 26, 2006; Posted: 7:41 a.m. EST (12:41 GMT)

A source close to the case says that Christian convert Abdul Rahman "could be released soon."

POLICHARKI, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity has been moved to a notorious maximum-security prison outside Kabul that is also home to hundreds of Taliban and al Qaeda militants, officials said Sunday.

Abdul Rahman, who faces a possible death sentence for alleged apostasy, was moved to Policharki Prison last week after detainees threatened his life at an overcrowded police holding facility in central Kabul, a court official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Gen. Shahmir Amirpur, who is in charge of Policharki, confirmed the move and said Rahman had been begging his guards to give him a Bible.

Doctors will examine Rahman on Monday to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial, prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said.

"It has been said that he has mental problems," the prosecutor said. "Doctors will examine him tomorrow and will then report to us."

However, according to an interview published Sunday in an Italian newspaper, Rahman said he is fully aware of his choice and is ready to die for it.

"I am serene. I have full awareness of what I have chosen. If I must die, I will die," Rahman told the Rome daily La Repubblica, which did not interview him directly but sent him questions through a human rights worker who visited him at a rundown central Kabul detention facility.

Authorities have barred journalists from seeing the 41-year-old defendant.

"Somebody, a long time ago, did it for all of us," he added in a clear reference to Jesus.

Meanwhile, under mounting foreign pressure, President Hamid Karzai searched for a way to free Rahman without angering Muslim clerics who have called for him to be killed.

Karzai and several Cabinet ministers on Saturday discussed Rahman's case, an official at Karzai's palace said. But she declined to comment on the outcome of the talks.

Hours earlier, another official said Rahman "could be released soon." Both spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to Karzai asking that the case be dropped, citing respect for religious freedom, the Vatican said Saturday.

But clerics have questioned Karzai's authority to order Rahman's release and have warned of a possible revolt if he tries.

"The Quran is very clear, and the words of our prophet are very clear. There can only be one outcome: death," said cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, who is also a member of the Supreme Court. "If Karzai releases him, it will play into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising."

Rahman is being prosecuted under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan.