Abdul Rahman and Afghani Democracy
I’m glad that Abdul Rahman was finally given assylum in Italy, but doesn’t really mean the situation in Afghanistan has suddenly improved. To begin with, it’s not a good thing at all if your choices when attempting to leave Islam are:
- Death
- Psychiatric “treatment”
But while Mr. Rahman was apparently able to escape the country, the reaction of the Afghan parliament suggests that it may not be such an “easy” option in the future:
The issue was discussed in the Afghan parliament on Wednesday, with almost all MPs in agreement that “his leaving Afghanistan must be prohibited”, the AFP news agency reported….
There had been an international outcry at the prospect of Mr Rahman being executed for his religious beliefs, but Afghan legislators said the decision to release him from trial for apostasy was “contrary to the laws in place in Afghanistan”.
Democracy is a great thing, and I believe that a country can only do its best when its government is reasonably democratic. But I hope those who were expecting democracy to “fix” Afghanistan will realize that democracy is not magic pixie dust to solve social or religious problems.