Christian freed: Afghanistan ignores threats of clerics
Christian freed: Afghanistan ignores threats of clerics:
The Afghan man who converted to Christianity and threw the new Afghanistan government into turmoil was released from prison Monday. The reaction by Muslim clerics and followers was immediate but so far has not been as dramatic as feared.
Abdul Rahman, 41, reportedly went into hiding Tuesday in Kabul after Muslim clerics threatened his life. Italy said it may grant him asylum. Strict Islamic law, Sharia, says that converting from Islam to another faith is punishable by death. Clerics in Afghanistan had insisted that the law be carried out in the case of Rahman who had converted to Christianity 16 years ago. Western nations, including the U.S., from whom Afghanistan relies on billions of dollars for rebuilding the country, pressured Afghan leaders to release Rahman.