This cartoon originally appeared in January 2004 and is one of over 450 cartoons in our book Black & White World II.
In the cartoon's original post about how the Afghan constitution was a failed attempt to mix Islam and secular, Western ideas of freedom, I wrote: "It's not difficult to guess which of the two -- Islam or the Constitution -- will eventually be favored in legal conflicts, for Islam is given the most moral significance by its very inclusion within the Constitution."
The case of Abdul Rahman has been example of exactly this point. Fortunately, the news today is that Mr. Rahman has escaped Afghanistan:Afghan Christian Convert Flees to Italy.
The Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity received asylum in Italy Wednesday, despite requests by lawmakers in Afghanistan that he be barred from fleeing the conservative Muslim country.Abdul Rahman arrived in Rome days after he was freed from a high-security prison on the outskirts of Kabul after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness.
It remains to be seen if the rest of Afghanistan will suffer this fate ... again.
Posted by Forkum at March 29, 2006 08:24 PM
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