“He is known as a microbe in society, and he should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim society and should be killed,” - Prosecutor Abdul Wasi
The Chicago Tribune reported yesterday about Abdul Rahman, an Afghan man who left Islam and became a Christian. For those who don’t know, Conservative Muslims consider it an offense punishable by death to cast aside Islam for another religion - especially Christianity which is practiced by most of the West.
It’s not a news flash to hear that liberal Muslims have served jail time for doing things like speaking out in minor opposition to some Muslim beliefs, publishing less than hardcore Muslim newspapers, etc. Even though Afghanistan’s justice minister granted permission for Rahman to receive visitors, the jail employees are turning them away. One jail employee, Hosnia Wafayosofi, went as far as to say “We will cut him into little pieces…There’s no need to see him.”
Next time you hear someone carrying on about how Bush has turned America into a theocracy keep this in mind: You’ll be better served to know how a true theocracy works in this day and age. You may not like Bush, and that’s fine, but you’re not thrown in jail or even threatened with death by the government for changing religions.
Related posts:
- Freedom of religion? Not if you’re a Congressman!
- All Signs Point To You’re An Idiot
- Iran fires back with its own cartoons
- On Larry King and New Jersey
- Court pwns Bush Administration
Digg | 
Stumble it! | 
Del.icio.us
10 comments ↓
Right, instead we just throw people in jail for no stated reason and no intention of ever bringing them to trial for anything. People who think George Bush is trying to usher in an age of Christian Dominionism are under the delusion that he actually stands for something other than his own personal power and the well-being of his cronies.
John, John… Why do you have to go and bring up unjust imprisonment? We’re talking about theocracy!
=P
Ah, the No true Scotsman logical fallacy.
Just because the government doesn’t kill people for their religion doesn’t mean it’s not at least partly theocratic.
You can, in fact, get thrown in prison if you refuse to take part in a Christian rehabilitation program after conviction for certain substance abuse crimes in this country. We’re hardly a bastion for religious freedom.
Huh, I’d never heard that judges would even mandate someone attend a religion-based rehab program.
Even still, as much as I’ve heard people carrying on about the U.S. being turned into a theocracy, it’s nowhere near the degree it is in other parts of the world.
For all its flaws, American does allow it’s people freely worship whomever/whatever they choose. I’ve yet to hear about someone in America having to hide their faith for 10 years or so.
Huh, I’d never heard that judges would even mandate someone attend a religion-based rehab program.
AA, the most common alcoholism rehabilitation program, is religiously based. It is quite common for those convicted of a DUI to have the option of joining AA or of sitting in a cell for a few months.
Hey, but while looking for some more information, I see that a federal appeals court ruled this practice unconstitutional.
Huzzah!
Ok, I’ll have to come up with another example.
Not that I’ve ever claimed that the US is a theocracy. It does, however, worry me that religion is increasingly enmeshed in public policy. And stories like this don’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I mean, seriously, atheists less trusted than Muslims? Where’s that good ol’ American racist xenophobia when you need it?
That link doesn’t work any way i try it…
Hmm. It still works for me. It’s a story saying that atheists rank the lowest in terms of trust among minorities they tested. I got to the story from reddit.com, so if you go there and search for “atheist”, you should be able to find it.
Huh, that’s really interesting. By habbit, I’m typically skeptical of results of polls or surveys. But the findings of that particular one really are interesting.
We were talking about it at work, and we decided that, whatever people may think or say on the phone when asked the question, they were still probably more likely to be accepting when their daughter brings me home to dinner than a Muslim.
Not sure if that makes me feel much better, though.
How’s THAT for survey results, huh? hehe
Leave a Comment