Said Musa, 45, has been held for eight months in a Kabul prison were he claims he has been tortured and sexually abused by inmates and guards.
Mr Musa, who lost his left leg in a landmine explosion in the 1990s, has worked for the Red Cross for 15 years and helps to treat fellow amputees.
He was arrested in May last year as he attempted to seek asylum at the German embassy following a crackdown on Christians within Afghanistan.
He claims he was visited by a judge who told him he would be hanged within days unless he converted back to Islam.
But he remains defiant and said he would be willing to die for his faith.
He told the Sunday Times: 'My body is theirs to do what they want with.
'Only God can decide if my spirit goes to hell.'
Defence lawyers have refused to represent him, while others have dropped the case after receiving death threats.
Mr Musa was arrested after a TV station showed western men baptising Afghans during secret ceremonies.
So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs.
— Ella Wheeler Wilcox
4 comments:
I HATE that 'coexist' image. Every time I see it on a bumper sticker I want my bumper to closely coexist with the back of their car.
Several of the 'religions' and belief systems represented on that logo have specific tenets that forbid peaceful coexistence with those that believe something else.
When I read this story I almost blogged it but what was there to say except WTF are our soldiers doing dying to enable that?
Oh, and what Harper said. That image is utopia ballcocks of the worst possible kind.
Please don't make the choice to dislike even the worst religiously fanatical person, regardless of their faith because recall that we will be judged according to whether we obeyed to love... Matthew 22:37-40, from King James Version: "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." And 1 Corinthians 13:13: "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." If we call or label ourselves as Christian or believing in God, then we are called to Love.
I am a U.S. Infantry Soldier. I have fought in both Afghanistan (3 times) and Iraq (2 times). The thing about Afghanistan and the way they persecute other Afghans of a different faith is due to their lack in education. This includes the judge in this story.
These people were deprived education and therefore were extremely gullible. They believed anything that Islamic extremists would tell them. Hence the reason that since NATO has been providing schools and education in most areas, the Taliban has been forced to recruit from the uneducated tribal Pakistan area that borders Eastern Afghanistan.
Tolerance for places like this require time and patience. It's sad and upsets me as well, but we what can we really do?
We see progress. When I was in Kunar Province recently (known as the deadliest place on Earth) we were the first multi-religion group (our Infantry Battalion) to have these Afghans pray for us. This is something that astonished a ton of military and political officials as they believed that we couldn't even befriend the locals of this province.
When I left, I cried. I felt an unbelievable connection to them and will miss them all dearly. I fought, was hurt, and avenged the deaths of any local killed by the Taliban's indescrimant fire on them.
The Taliban would enter schools and execute or beat teachers (sometimes in front of the children) because they want an uneducated and easily manipulated people to help their own religious and personal beliefs.
Many Taliban fighters of this region also came out of the mountains, layed down their arms, and embraced us as their friends. They reconciled with the locals, with us, and with God for not following Allah's true teaching. This is what one of the reconciling fighters told us. He told us that he simply didn't know the truth.
It will take time. I am truly sorry that people must suffer, that people may die, that people may lose everything they have, but we must keep our faith. We must keep teaching. We must believe that we can COEXIST. Otherwise all that suffering, loss, and death would be completely in vain.
I will do everything I can, for the rest of my life, and even if it costs my life.. just to achieve or make progress on the goal to coexist. It isn't far fetched. Just have faith and help.
Give to a charity that helps NATO to build schools, that helps organizations bring aid, that simply helps the Afghan people.
Again, this comment is being posted by a U.S. Army Infantryman, 5 time combat veteran, wounded warrior, father, son, brother, and I am 28 years old. I have been fighting since before I was even able to buy a pack of cigarettes. I was 17 when I first fought the Taliban.
Post a Comment