Afghans Might Hang Christian Aid Workers

[Guest guest]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Eight Western aid workers charged

with spreading Christianity in Afghanistan might be sentenced to death, an

official said Wednesday. Reports emerged of a Taliban offer to exchange the

detainees for an unspecified number of Muslim terrorists and other militants imprisoned around

the world.

 

"We will punish them according to law," said Taliban Chief

Justice Maulawi Noor Mohammad Saqib. "If they are found guilty, they will be

hanged."

 

 

The accused would be allowed to have foreign, non-Muslim lawyers, Saqib

said.

 

 

The eight Westerners, including four Germans, two Americans and two

Australians, were among 24 members of Shelter Now International arrested

Aug. 6. The other 16 were Afghans.

 

 

Their trial began Tuesday behind closed doors. They face charges of

preaching Christianity in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

 

 

There was no information on when they would appear in court, but the court

was examining Bibles and other material allegedly seized from the homes and

offices of the detainees.

 

 

Diplomats who sought a meeting with Saqib to clarify legal procedure were

turned away. Saqib said they would be contacted if and when necessary.

 

 

In a related development, the Taliban proposed to the United States that

the aid workers be exchanged for Muslim prisoners, including the World Trade

Center bomber, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is in a U.S. prison, Lebanon's

al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported Wednesday.

 

 

The newspaper quoted a source close to the banned Egyptian Islamic

Grouping as saying the Taliban offer was relayed to Washington via a U.S.

citizen of Arab descent living in New York. The unnamed mediator said he

received the proposal from a hard-line Egyptian leader living in Afghanistan

with strong ties to Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

 

 

The newspaper said though the Taliban said it was determined to try the

eight Westerners, Islamic sources in Egypt said the movement would be ready

for a deal that would secure the release of jailed Arab fundamentalists.

 

 

In a statement in Cairo, Abdel Rahman's wife, Aisha, appealed to

Mullah Omar and President Bush to go ahead with the deal because

of her husband's health.

 

 

Mullah Omar was expected to have the last word on the fate of the

Westerners. No one has previously been tried for preaching Christianity, and

this is the first time the Taliban has put non-Muslims on trial. The Afghan

defendants were to be tried at a later date.

 

 

A ruling earlier this year said Afghan Muslims converting to another

religion would be sentenced to death. But a senior Taliban official said

Tuesday that any Afghan convicted of converting to Christianity would be

given three days to renounce his faith. He would then be spared the

death penalty but would still face other punishments for betraying his

religion and traditions.

 

 

[Maitreya 0]

"Down.. down.. Taliban" should be the world wide protest cry!

[amanpeter 0]

One point worth noting, perhaps, is the `muslims'` objection to the `christians` glorifying Lord Jesus (guru) as greater than God...

[Maitreya 0]

No, read the article.Any Afghan that converts to another religion is subject to death.Who the hell do these jerks think they are?People should be able to change their minds as they wish, back and forth, right or wrong.

[amanpeter 0]

Originally posted by Maitreya:

No, read the article.Any Afghan that converts to another religion is subject to death.Who the hell do these jerks think they are?People should be able to change their minds as they wish, back and forth, right or wrong.

They are putting foreign Christian aid workers on trial. My source is the Toronto Star, this city's main newspaper.