Abdul Rahman professes himself a "Christian." He exclaims: "I believe in Jesus Christ." For this offense, the convert faces trial and a possible death sentence in Afghanistan, the country the United States recently liberated. The United States military overthrew the Taliban. They didn't overthrow Islamic fundamentalism. America can replace a bad government with a better one. Replacing a bad culture with a better one is a much more difficult problem to solve. To believe that the same government, which can't effectively run a rail service or balance a budget, can topple fourteen centuries of history is to put faith in the state beyond that of even the most visionary liberal.

I sure hope someone in our givt' is calling Kabul and asking just what they think they're doing. Somehow I doubt it. After all, said Bush, Islam is a religion of peace. Right...

Attention readers... be careful as to what you post. Flynn has set up and has authorized "Flynn Security" which is not unlike "Fox Security" and they can show up at your house at any given moment. Upon which, they can "detain" you indefinately. Three Cheers for free speech!!!

You must be a "Fancy Lad".

This is shocking to me. I really thought that with with the Taliban ousted and with the advent of free elections and democracy that these people were on the right track. Do you mean to tell me that the culture in Afghanistan has not been adapted to what exists in free western societies? Thought the evolution would have happened a lot sooner. ;-)

Damn dirty apes!

Apes is about the size of it. And I thought these people embraced the religion of peace?

Oh well, democracy will make everything A-ok.

Quote from his jailer: "we will cut him into little pieces".

What rational sorts, eh?!

I was in the Middle East for the last 2 weeks, and attended Catholic mass twice while there. I have to say, that it's really amazing to go to mass in places like that. To begin with, the churches are surrounded by 20 foot high, 4 foot thick walls. This serves 2 purposes: 1. it prevents anyone from being able to tell it's a non-muslim place of worship (harram); and, 2. it keeps out the truck bombs.

And, the places are simply packed. Far from being afraid of the culture around them, they pack the pews every Sunday.

And of course, here I am, often reluctant to even make the sign of the cross in public... Yet, I don't risk death by doing so, as these poor people in the muslim-controlled world do. They expose me as the coward I am.

On a related note:

The U.S. invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam might just lead to decimation of that countries very old Christian community http://www.byzantines.net/epiphany/chaldean.htm some sects of which still speak Aramaic.

This just isn't talked about much in the msm, and what's worse, the religious right in America for the most part cares not a wit for Arab and Persian Christians. This is evident both in Iraq and in the Christian Zionists support of Israeli policies that treat Palestinian Christians terribly. For one example of the latter, the wall of separation being built by Israel has cut through numerous Catholic properties, including the Santa Marta Monastery on the Mount of Olives.

The Barnabas Fund is an advocacy group that does report these issues and The Christian Science Monitor has published on it as well but I haven't seen all that much else on the problems facing Christians in the Mid east as a result of U.S. policy.

Would have taken you for a Buddhist Homer. Go figure?

Well, I would'a figgered you 'fer a buttnut, so we all make mistakes, don't we?

I am a buttnut, chisle chest.

Real proud'a ya.

Removing one form of evil is only one step. To prevent another form of evil the best thing to do is replace it with good.

Simply put, if Christians successfully spread the Word, then Afghanistan won't have such a beef with Christians or Christianity.

To Brian -

Your claim that Israel treats Palestinian Christians "terribly" is erroneous. Christians only had freedom of worship in Jerusalem AFTER Israel had liberated it. In addition, Christians are legitimately oppressed daily in the Palestinian territories by Muslims. How do you think they will fare under the Hamas regime? There are two sides to every story.

For the record, the United States military didn't topple the Taliban. The United States military provided air support and special forces elements to the Northern Alliance, who toppled the taliban for us.

This event is awful, obviously, and it's just another nail in the coffin for those who believe in Democratic Peace Theory.

As for myself, I abandoned that a while ago.

For some reasone I happened to look back at this comments page and saw Roger Causwell's response to me.

I am not sure what the evidence for your claim is or even when you are talking about Israel "liberating" jerusalem (1967?), thus giving Christians freedom to worship. Are you suggesting that under the British Mandate that approximately one fifth of the people living in Palestine were not free to worship Christianity or just that only those in Jerusalem? If so then your claim is false. However, I am not sure what you are talking about so wil leave it at that.

As for your claims regarding the oppressions of Christians in Palestine by Muslims I assume that your wording is just typographically misleading as to seem to approve of the oppression of Christians. But to your point then, surely it is accurate to say that Christians do not always fare uniformly well at the hands of Muslims (I make that point above) in various places including Palestine. I am not happy with mistreatment of Christians by either Arabs or Israelis which you seem to be trying to elide or evade.

However, Christian Palestinian nationalists have been important segments of the PLO over the years and many prominent figures in the PLO have been, and are, Christian. And large numbers of Christians have simply had to emigrate and flee Israel over the years to Lebanon, the U.S., and elsewhere because of the violence. As for my own particular confession, the Catholic Church has long spoken out in defense of the Palestinians and for an end to Israeli occupation so I don't see how I am out of line to agree with Rome on this score.

Oh I should have added that Palestinian Christians like Palestinian Muslims are not allowed unfettered access to Jerusalem's Christian or Muslim holy sites, they aren't even allowed in the city so I don't know how you could possibly call that freedom of worship.