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March 21, 2006
What are the implications of the Afghan death sentence?
The folks at Power Line state the implications of the Christian facing execution in Afghanistan for refusing to renounce his faith:
This is, I think, a watershed moment. The American people will bear a great deal of sacrifice, but only on behalf of principle. If, after our liberation of Afghanistan, a man may still be executed for being a Christian--or a Jew, although to my knowledge that case hasn't arisen--there is no logical basis on which our government can continue to request the ultimate sacrifice from its most devoted supporters.
My initial reaction was to nod in agreement. But the more I think about it, the less I think he's right. Our self-interest must be the deciding factor, not the degree to which Afghanistan -- or Iraq -- end up as swarthier versions of America.
We went after the Taliban because they were engaged in aiding and abetting our enemies, providing support to Al Queda and endangering our nation. Of course, the Taliban was also brutalizing the Afghan people, destroying cultural artifacts more than a thousand years old in a quest to eradicate every last vestige of non-Muslim culture from their country.
Are the Afghans better off as a result of our military intervention? Unquestionably yes. Girls, forbidden access to schools under the rule of the Taliban, may now acquire the educations needed to help Afghanistan prosper. The tyrannical rule of the Talibs has been replaced with democracy, albeit in a form alien to American sensibilities.
That Abdul Rahman faces death because he converted to Christianity is repellent, but not surprising, given the current state of Islam.
If anything, Rahman's fate should serve as a warning to the proponents of multiculturalism. All cultures are not equal; the West and its values are worth preserving, worth fighting for.
If the Afghan government kills Mr. Rahman because he is an apostate, the rationale for our war on the Taliban will not have been invalidated. America will still be better off for their having been consigned to the trash heap of history. Afghanistan will still be better off for their ejection from the levers of power. But the Muslim world will be the worse for his death, not just for the effect on the Afghan people, but for the increasing number of Americans who will have been convinced that there is no hope; that Muslims are irredeemable savages; and that the answer is for America to turn her back on the world, isolationism resurgent.
The sacrifices of our troops will truly have been for nought if the execution of Rahman provides the pretext for Americans to withdraw to the illusory safety of Festung Conus, leaving the feckless Europeans to root out the Islamist thugs planning their next attacks on the West.
UPDATE
Michelle Malkin has posted tons of information on Abdul Rahman as she rallies readers to try and save his life, including where to write on his behalf. Check it out.
Posted by Mike Lief at March 21, 2006 12:18 AM
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Comments
I'm a Baptist. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I cannot support my tax money going to any government that would put another Christian to death just because he has the courage to walk with Jesus. I'm not seeing much of a difference between the guys we kicked out and the guys we put in power.
Posted by: Red Stater at March 24, 2006 01:36 PM