So much for America's ameliorating influence on our "allies" in the War on Terror.  Fox News (via AP) reports  that a man is being prosecuted in Kabul, Afghanistan, for converting from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.  Shockingly, he was turned in by his own family.

According to the story, under sharia, which is the governing law in Afghanistan, any Muslim who rejects his religion should be sentenced to death — and that is exactly what the prosecutor and judge intend to to do in this case, unless the man agrees to convert back to Islam.  So far, he has bravely declined to give in to their demands.  Poor man.  Despite the overthrow of the Taliban by Allied forces shortly after 9/11, he still finds himself living under a cruel Islamic tyranny...  in a country that supposedly is one of the "successes" in the War on Terror.

This story offers further proof (as if more were needed) that Islamic law is fundamentally incompatible with Western ideals of freedom and individual rights.  If the War on Terror is going to be about more than just killing terrorists and preventing rogue states from acquiring weapons of mass destruction (the original Bush Doctrine), if it is also going to be about spreading liberty and democracy to the Islamic world (the President's current vision), then we need to acknowledge and confront the reality of Islamic tyranny.  No more platitudes about Islam being the "religion of peace" and one of the "great" faiths of the world.  As currently taught and practiced across the globe, Islam is as hostile to liberty and democracy as communism.  The sooner we confront this unpleasant fact, the better.

Steven M. Warshawsky  3 19 06