What Afghan Freedom?

I thought we were fighting for freedom in Afghanistan. It seems that one Abdul Rahman, who lived in Germany in the early nineties and converted to Christianity before returning home to Afghanistan, admitted to his conversion and could now be put to death for converting to another religion. Islamic sharia law, y'see, forbids Muslims to abandon the faith. Because Afghan law follows the sharia, Rahman has possibly committed a capital offense.

In its rush to export Western-style democracy wherever they feel it's needed, they've obviously forgotten about cultural differences that don't allow our democratic principles to work out as easily. After all, Afghans are suspicious of any religion or custom practiced by Westerners, and they take preserving their own way of life seriously. But this clearly goes beyond the pale. Afghanistan should recognize the right of religious minorities to live without fear of practicing their faiths, and that you don't punish a Muslim for wanting to be an ex-Muslim. What if Americans had made Muhammad Ali pay for abandoning Christianity. . . . Okay, bad example! The international outcry over this is justly deserved, but if Rahman's life is in jeopardy, even if he's allowed to go free on a technicality (some have suggested finding him not guilty by reason of insanity!), maybe he should just go back to Europe, where folks would have less of a problem accepting him.

This reminds me of Ann Coulter's oft-repeated solution to fighting Muslim terrorism - invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. Okay, Afghanistan. . . . We invaded. Check. We killed some Taliban leaders. Check. As for the third part. . . well, that's not really our job. Gee, Annie, since it's your idea, why not try converting Afghans to Christianity yourself? You'd make a great missionary, you're so persuasive! ;-)