[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN 
                              AFGHANISTAN

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2006

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 736, a 
resolution to Condemn Afghan Attempts to Prosecute Converts. I share my 
colleagues' deep concern regarding the case of Mr. Abdul Rahman and the 
questions it raises regarding Afghanistan's commitment to religious 
freedom and human rights. I have sent a letter to Afghan President 
Hamid Karzai, and I submit it for the Record.

       Dear President Karzai: I am writing to you concerning the 
     case of Abdul Rahman, whose conversion to Christianity could 
     have cost him his life under traditional Sharia law.
       Along with many in the U.S. as well as in Britain, Germany, 
     Italy, and Australia, I am relieved that Mr. Rahman will not 
     be tried for exercising a right that is guaranteed to him by 
     national and international law. I recognize that you face 
     strong domestic opposition to this decision, but I urge the 
     Afghan government to stand by it and to use this opportunity 
     to demonstrate your Government's commitment to tolerance, the 
     rule of law, and the democratic ideals that are just 
     beginning to take root in Afghanistan.
       Afghanistan's Constitution stipulates that Afghanistan 
     shall abide by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of 
     Human Rights, which states that ``everyone has the right to 
     freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right 
     includes freedom to change his religion or belief.'' 
     Additionally, although Afghanistan is an Islamic state, its 
     Constitution expressly grants followers of other religions 
     the right to freely exercise ``their faith and perform their 
     religious rites within the limits and the provisions of 
     law.'' The case of Abdul Rahman highlights the need to define 
     these limits.
       Your steady and principled leadership during the uncertain 
     post-war period earned you the admiration and trust of the 
     citizens of Afghanistan, who chose you to defend their hard-
     won freedoms and rights as their first democratically-elected 
     President. Similarly, the international community has 
     supported your reform efforts and we congratulate you on the 
     major social, political, economic and security improvements 
     in Afghanistan since the defeat of the Taliban.
       The strength and legitimacy of your democratically-elected 
     Government will ultimately depend upon that government's 
     ability and willingness to protect and promote the 
     fundamental human rights of all Afghani citizens. While it 
     may be permitted under Islamic Sharia law, the threatened 
     execution of Mr. Rahman would have violated the U.N. 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Afghan 
     Constitution. We are grateful this man's life has been 
     spared, and we hope that your government will take this 
     opportunity to clarify the supremacy of Afghanistan's 
     constitution within your country's legal framework.

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