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What does the Council on American-Islamic Relations have to say about the trial of an Afghan Muslim who may get the death penalty for converting to Christianity? Nothing so far, noted a conservative, pro-family group.

"Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations so far has been silent," the Family Research Council said in an email message on Tuesday.

"Hooper is usually quick to decry any anti-Muslim slight. By not speaking out against this outrageous action, CAIR is dealing with the issue," said FRC President Tony Perkins.

CAIR, in an email message of its own on Tuesday, did not mention the case of Abdul Rahman, who converted to Christianity 16 years ago. The judge hearing Rahman's case was quoted as saying that Rahman could face the death penalty if he refused to return to Islam.

Some of CAIR's leaders, along with other Muslims, met on Tuesday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes and top officials of the National Security Council. But the meetings focused on outreach efforts to the Muslim world and "how to address growing levels of Islamophobia in the West," CAIR said.

CAIR recently launched a "Not in the Name of Islam" campaign, which seeks to distance Muslims from terrorism and "correct misperceptions of Islam."

The apostasy trial of Abdul Rahman has rallied American Christians. The American Family Association is circulating an online petition, urging readers to contact President Bush and request his intervention in the case.

And the Family Research Council's Perkins said he's sent letters to President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), the respective foreign affairs committee chairmen, telling them that Americans have not given their lives in Afghanistan so Christians can be executed.

"The judge in Rahman's case soothingly assures us that all will be forgiven if he renounces his Christianity because 'Islam is a religion of tolerance.' Really?" asked Perkins.

Perkins is particularly upset with comments made by White House spokesman Sean McCormack, who said on Tuesday, "Freedom of worship is an important element of any democracy and these are issues as Afghan democracy matures that they are going to have to deal with increasingly."

Said Perkins, "Religious freedom is not just 'an important element' of democracy; it is its cornerstone. Religious persecution leads inevitably to political tyranny. Five hundred years of history confirm this."

Perkins has said that President Bush should send Vice President Cheney or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Afghanistan to read the Afghan government the riot act.

"Americans will not give their blood and treasure to prop up new Islamic fundamentalist regimes," he said earlier this week.

Afghan prosecutors say Christian convert may be unfit to stand trial: report
Last Updated Wed, 22 Mar 2006 05:48:15 EST
CBC News

Afghan prosecutors say a 41-year-old man facing the death penalty for rejecting Islam and converting to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial, according to a report.

"We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari told the Associated Press.

Abdul Rahman went on trial last week in Afghanistan after being charged with rejecting Islam. He had converted to Christianity 16 years ago, but was arrested in February after his family denounced him during a custody battle.

A judge told Rahman he faces the death penalty unless he agrees to convert back to the faith in which he was raised, but on Wednesday a state prosecutor and presidential adviser said he may be unfit to stand trial.

A religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai said Rahman would undergo a psychological examination.

The case has raised international concern from Canada, the United States, Germany and Italy.

"Canada will continue to encourage the Afghan government to adhere to its human rights obligations," Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Pamela Greenwell told Reuters on Tuesday.

Speaking with top Afghan officials in Washington Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns also urged Afghanistan to respect freedom of religion.

The case highlights divisions between Afghan's conservative clerics and reformers.

The nation's constitution, drafted after the ultra-conservative Taliban government was forced from power four years ago, is based on Shariah law. Shariah is the legal code of Islam, based on the Qu'ran.

Afghan prosecutors say Christian convert may be unfit to stand trial: report (http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/03/22/christian_afghan060321.html)