First the cartoon jihad, now Abdul Rahman

Speaking of bad Islamism versus good Islam, are the leading Afghani clerics Islamists? Based on what they’re saying about Abdul Rahman, it looks like it. But if the established authorities of the official religion of the post-Taliban Afghanistan are bad Islamists, then what is the good Islam as distinct from the bad Islamism? It’s all pretty much the same thing, isn’t it? In any event, the clerical charmers sure are making our case for us about the true nature of Islam/Islamism. According to WorldNetDaily, poor Rahman is doomed to die a horrible death, however his case may be resolved. If found guilty of converting to Christianity, which he freely admits having done, he must be executed. But if he is released, whether because of his possible mental instability (which may only be a false report by the government to give themselves a way out) or because of international political pressure, the leading Muslim clerics in Afghanistan promise that they will instruct the people to “pull him into pieces.”

“Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die,” said cleric Abdul Raoulf, according to an Associated Press report.

“He is not crazy,” added Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque, according to the AP report. “He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian. The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed.”

“Cut off his head!” Raoulf told AP while seated outside the Herati Mosque. “We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there’s nothing left.”

Given the determination of Rahman’s fellow Afghanis, how can this situation end without a religious martyrdom that would delegitimize the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan? There’s only one way. Rahman must be brought to the United States, where for his own safety he will have to spend the rest of his life in a safe house or a military base. He will, by the way, likely have a lot of company in the decades to come, as an ever-increasing number of Americans, following the path of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, come under death threats from ever-more-powerful domestic jihadists. If we keep on going the way we’re going, that is our future. Either we confine the Muslims inside their countries, or they will confine us inside ours.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 23, 2006 10:05 PM | Send