Afghan Convert

It seems that an Afghan, Abdul Rahman, managed to escape a possible death sentence for converting to Christianity. According to an article on the BBC website, he was released from prison after a judge ruled him mentally unfit to stand trial — a ruling that may have been influenced by international pressure. Rahman then apparently fled to Italy, which has welcomed him with open arms.

Now, to begin with, I was rather surprised to hear that this sort of thing is happening in Afghanistan at all. I suppose it was unreasonable and ignorant of me to assume that the Afghan government became secular after the overthrow of the Taliban. After all, Afghanistan has a long history with Islam, and recent events do not justify a complete change in that sense.

As for Rahman's case, I am glad that he was able to escape, and hope that he is safe in Italy. I think that this is one of the best possible outcomes, because no one can be confidently blamed (or congratulated) for Rahman's escape. It would have been worse if international pressure had been more forceful, or if someone had helped Rahman escape from prison.

I do have some quibbles with the matter. For example:

"Applications for political asylum in Italy normally take months to process, but Mr Berlusconi and several colleagues had said previously they favoured a quick decision in Mr Rahman's favour, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome." — from the linked article

I never like this sort of thing. Was Rahman's application fast-tracked because he was in danger of death or because his case got so much attention? It bothers me that there are doubtless thousands of cases where the applicants weren't so lucky, perhaps simply because they had the misfortune of not being special. One could hope that Rahman's experiences will raise awareness of refugees, and that it will prompt people to evaluate how refugees are handled by their governments. It doesn't seem likely, though.

That said, I obviously don't object to Italy's offer of asylum as such. I think they were right to welcome Rahman openly, whether or not it outrages folk in Afghanistan.
I find it a little difficult to justify my position, though. After all, I assume that Rahman was doing no wrong by converting to Christianity. I also assume that, whether or not he was trying to convert others, he wouldn't deserve a harsh jail term, not to mention the death penalty.
It would be very different if Rahman had murdered someone. Everyone can agree that murderers (if guilty) should be imprisoned (or sent to a mental institution, if necessary). Such measures would be taken for everyone's safety, if for no other reason.
Murder, of course, is different from converting from one religion to another, because it clearly harms another human being. Still, if Islam law in Afghanistan doesn't recognize the difference, how can one deal with that? I get the impression that many people in the Middle East already resent us enough as it is. Telling them that they're wrong about this sort of thing, or interfering with their affairs, probably won't do anything but increase the resentment.

Not exactly what I would consider a happy ending, in some ways.