Tolerance

Question 1

What does quran 3:19 say? in the …

Answer 1

“in the sight of god islam is the religion…..let whoever denies the revelations of God know that God is swift at reckoning”

Question 2

What does quran 2:256 say that encourages tolerance?

Answer 2

“there is no compulsion in religion”

Question 3

What does Muhammad say in the hadith that encourages tolerance?

Answer 3

“Do not give me superiority over Musa”

Question 4

What does quran 3:64 say that encourages tolerance?

Answer 4

“Say, ‘People of the Book, let us arrive at a statement that is common to us all: we worship God alone, we ascribe no partner to Him, and none of us takes others beside God as lords’”

Question 5

What does quran 109:6 say that encourages tolerance?

Answer 5

“you have your religion and I have mine”

Question 6

What does quran 4:156 say that encourages intolerance?

Answer 6

“they (Jews) disbelieved and uttered a terrible slander against Mary”

Question 7

What does quran 18:4 say that encourages intolerance? the quran….

Answer 7

“(the Qur’an) warns those people who assert ‘God has offpsring’… it is a monstrous assertion that comes out of their mouths: what they say is nothing but lies”

Question 8

What does the Quran say on Muhammads role?

Answer 8

“We have sent [Muhammad] you as a messenger to people… If some pay no heed, We have not sent you to be their keeper”

Question 9

What does the Quran say on the torah?

Answer 9

“We send down the Torah wherein there is guidance and light”

Question 10

Quran - Do not …

Answer 10

do not take the Jews and Christians as allies

Question 11

Quran - whomsoever …

Answer 11

“Whomsoever follows a religion other than Islam this will not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.”

Question 12

Quran - fight those …

Answer 12

“Fight those among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who do not believe in God or the Hereafter”

Question 13

What did Fadl believe about Quranic verses on intolerance?

Answer 13

Fadl writes that the main issue with the citing of these Qur’anic verses above is that they are read out of historical and cultural context. As well as this, they ignore the thrust of the Qur’an and its message to show mercy, kindness, justice and goodness. The Qur’an should be read within its own moral context. The text is not fixed, it is to be interpreted by those who already have the qualities listed above (kindness, goodness). Similarly, The Qur’an must be read within its cultural and historical context e.g. reference to the poll tax would only be fully understood if the cultural practices at the time are known about.

Question 14

Quran - God has

Answer 14

“God has made you into diverse nations and tribes so that you may come to know each other.”

Question 15

Why did Fadl suggest diversity is part of the divine purpose? (quranic quote)

Answer 15

“If thy Lord had willed, he would have made humankind into a single nation” Fadl believed this verse has been underdeveloped in Islamic theology.

Question 16

Who are the Ahl al-Kitab?

Answer 16

People of the Book - Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians. All people who possess the divine books - the Torah, Injil, and Psalms

Question 17

What privileges did Muhammad give to the people of the book?

Answer 17

• freedom to worship - not forced to convert to Islam
• expected authorities to protect them
  “He who wrongs a Jew or a Christian will have myself [the Prophet] as his indicter on the Day of Judgment.”

Question 18

How does marriage work with the people of the book?

Answer 18

Muslim men are permitted to marry women from Ahl al-Kitāb even if the latter choose to remain in their religion. Muslim women, however, are not allowed to marry Christians or Jews unless they convert to Islam.

Question 19

What are the similarities between the People of the Book and Islam?

Answer 19

• Both have recognised prophets (Ibrahim, Musa, Isa)
• Both believe in unity of God
• Belief in divine commandments

Question 20

What are the differences between the People of the Book and Islam?

Answer 20

• Torah and Injil became corrupted
• possibly different messages from God at different times
• Islam was intended for all people for all time, Christianity and Judaism were not.
• It is generally thought that God gave certain laws for certain communities e.g. In Judaism, the law is retaliation for intentional murder, in the Injil, it was pardon whereas in Shariah, it is either retaliation, blood money or pardon.

Question 21

How should the contents of the Torah and Injil be viewed? (supported by Al Sarakhsi)

Answer 21

Their contents should remain valid until there’s proof of their abolition. Sarakshi says this is supported by the Qur’an’s instruction that people should have faith in the messengers, angels and revealed books. As well as this, some of the previous revealed teachings were also revealed to Muhammad and then contained in the Qur’an.

Question 22

How should the contents of the Torah and Injil be viewed? (supported by Ghazali)

Answer 22

The contents should be discarded with the succession of the new prophet, unless the new prophet says otherwise. They refer to the Qur’an where it says that the Torah was given for the children of Israel only. They also argue that if the previous prophets teachings and laws were to be continued, there would be no need for the new prophet. They also refer to a tradition where Muhammad gets infuriated with the people and says “Are you perplexed like the Jews and the Christians were? By God, if Moses were alive, he would have no alternative but to follow me.” Suggesting that the former prophets should be following Muhammad, even though they came before him. In Ghazali’s opinion, if the prophet could not abolish former laws then he would have been simply a transmitter of laws rather than the founder of the Shariah.

Question 23

What is a dhimmi?

Answer 23

Non muslim

Question 24

What is said in the constitution of Medina which Muhammad brought in?

Answer 24

1. The security (dhimma) of God is equal for all groups,
2. Non-Muslim members have equal political and cultural rights as Muslims. They will have autonomy and freedom of religion.
3. Non-Muslims will take up arms against the enemy of the Ummah and share the cost of war. There is to be no treachery between the two.
4. Non-Muslims will not be obliged to take part in religious wars of the Muslims.
5. Muhammad made a special contract with the Jews. This allowed them to grow out their side locks and observe the Sabbath, provided they paid a special tax called the jizya.

Question 25

What did the dhimma contract involve?

Answer 25

Muhammad’s contract with the Jews was extended in India to Hindus and Buddhists, and eventually to all Muslims living outside of Mecca.
Non Muslims usually used their own courts in Islamic countries and did not have to adhere to the Shariah courts. However, if the case involved a Muslim, then it would be heard in a Shariah court and if it was a capital offense, then it was tried in the Shariah courts. During the Ottoman Empire, many non Muslims chose to have their cases tried in the shariah courts.
Dhimmis were spared forced conversion. Muhammad did not forbid Zoroastrians to self marry (considered incestuous by Muslims) so this set a precedent to allow this to continue in medieval Islam.

Question 26

What were non Muslims allowed to do if they paid the jizya tax?

Answer 26

Eat pork, drink alcohol, observe the Sabbath, grow side locks

Question 27

Does the dhimma contract apply in modern times?

Answer 27

No. Therefore, non Muslims are counted as equal in the eyes of the law to Muslims. They are excluded from specifically Muslim duties and privileges e.g.Zakat and festival days.

Question 28

What did the Dhimma contract include after Muhammad?

Answer 28

Dhimmis were not allowed to:
1. Build a house higher than a Muslims.
2. Ride a horse.
3. Hold a position of authority over the affairs of Muslims.
However they were allowed to worship but it must be low profile and they were not allowed religious symbolism. Muslims had to do the opposite and not place their religion in a place of inferiority.

Question 29

Why do Muslim jurists argue over the hierarchy of monotheistic religions?

Answer 29

Some argue Christianity is most important because it shares two prophets with Islam, Musa and Isa. However other argue Judaism is better because it does not believe in the Trinity. Zoroastrians are near the bottom as they have no prophets and no revealed book. Polytheists are the lowest as they have no prophets and don’t believe in one God.

Question 30

What did Ghazali teach about who will go to heaven?

Answer 30

• Al Ghazali taught that most non-muslims will enter heaven. He thought that Muhammad’s way was the best way to God but many people do not hear it. Others heard it from people who did not give a good impression. Only those who had heard it many times, understood, and felt the reality of the good in it, but then rejected that good, would not enter heaven.

Question 31

How does Medieval Spain/La Convivencia support tolerance>

Answer 31

• Some Muslims look to Medieval Spain and the period of La Convivencia to support the fact Muslims were tolerant towards other religion because many Jews and Christians held senior positions, or were academic writers, or even held the position of Vizier under the Muslim rulers. The period of Muslim Spain is known as La Convivencia, a period of cultural mixing.

Question 32

Why did Al-Biruni accept some Hindus as fellow believers? Why did he study Sanskrit?

Answer 32

Al-Biruni accepted some Hindus as fellow believers as he thought that all cultures were related to each other as they were all made by people, so he did not judge others as right or wrong. He saw that some Hindus understood the idea of one god, who was eternal and present everywhere. These Hindus he accepted as fellow believers. He studied alongside Hindus and became fluent in sanskrit so that he could read their religious and scientific texts and enter dialogue with other faiths.

Question 33

What is Qisas?

Answer 33

Retribution - eye for an eye etc

Question 34

What is Diya?

Answer 34

Blood money - must be paid to a victim’s family for killing a relative

Question 35

What is the Quran/hadiths supports retribution regarding dhimmis?

Answer 35

The Qur’an suggests an eye for an eye with those who are of equal status “a free man for a free man”. It also says “we prescribed for the people of Israel an eye for an eye.” (5.45) This suggests that eye for an eye should be applied equally. This is further supported by the fact that Muhammad ordered the execution of a Muslim who has killed a dhimmi. This is in an early Hadith.

Question 36

What did Muhammad say against retribution for dhimmis?

Answer 36

“A believer is not to be killed for the killing of an unbeliever.”

Question 37

What did Umar and Uthman do regarding punishment of dhimmis?

Answer 37

Umar and Uthman both pardoned Muslims for killing dhimmis and changed the punishment from qisas (eye for an eye) to diya.

Question 38

When does Qisas apply?

Answer 38

It only works when one life is of equal status to the other. Qur’an 5.45 seems to support the fact that a dhimmi’s life is equal to a Muslims.

Question 39

What was Hanafi’s teaching on Qisas?

Answer 39

Hanafi claimed that a dhimmi’s life was equal to that of a Muslims because of the dhimma contract which came after the take over of Mecca in 630 AD. Therefore, only dhimmis are equal, not infidels. A Muslim cannot be killed for killing an unbeliever as they are not covered by the dhimmi contract.

Question 40

What was Al Shafis teaching on Qisas?

Answer 40

A believer cannot be killed for killing an unbeliever under any circumstance. According to the Hadith, they should be imprisoned for no longer than a year. Yet if an unbeliever kills a Muslim, he/she should be killed even if they are a dhimmi as Allah allows the killing of a non believer who has killed a believer. He also says that the earlier tradition of Muhammad killing a Muslim for retaliation for his killing is unreliable and not to be trusted.

Question 41

What was Hanbali’s teaching on qisas?

Answer 41

Hanbali’s teaching was similar to Al-Shafi’I’s and said the dhimmi’s life was not permanently protected and that a Muslim life is superior. If a dhimmi kills a dhimmi then they are liable to qisas.

Question 42

What was Ibn Hazm’s teaching on Diya?

Answer 42

A Muslim should not have to pay blood money if he kills an infidel whether it is intentional or not. However, if he kills a dhimmi without just cause, he should be imprisoned but still does not pay diya.

Question 43

What did the Malikis and Hanbalis believe about Diya?

Answer 43

These schools of thought follow the Hadith which says that diya should be payed for killing a Jew or Christian but it should be half of that payed for a Muslim. It should be less than this for a Zoroastrian and a polytheist. This was because the diya for a woman is half because she is “deficient in intelligence and religion”. A Polytheist has no religion and so is worth less than a woman!

Question 44

What did the Hanafi’s teach on Diya?

Answer 44

The Hanafi’s base their teaching on Qur’an 4.92 - “He who hath killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave, and pay the blood-money to the family of the slain, unless they remit it as a charity” - and so diya for a dhimmi is equal to that of killing a Muslim. This verse puts a fixed price of diya and it is payable regardless of the religion of the killed person. Al Sarakhsi supports this because of the dhimma contract and this is supported by the traditions going back to Muhammad, Umar and Abu Bakr.

Question 45

What happened in 2009 with Noreen?

Answer 45

She was a christian, told she was forbidden to drink water from the same utensil that Muslims drink from. When demanded that she convert to Islam, she said - “What did your prophet Muhammad ever do to save mankind?”

Question 46

How are non Muslims treated in Saudi Arabia and why?

Answer 46

• Non Muslims have no residency rights
• It is influenced by the Whahhabi movement, which aimed to rid Islam of corruption and return to a literal reading of the Qur’an and adherence to the Sunnah. Under the pretext of Salafism, Saudi Arabia spread the Wahhabi creed as Wahhabism had influenced Salafism, making it a conservative, puritan, liberalist theology.

Question 47

How are Muslims treated in Iran and why?

Answer 47

• There are churches for non Muslims
• They have to vote on separate electoral roles
• They live in their own separate communities
• All Iranians are treated equally and there must be no investigation of individual’s religious beliefs.
• The Qur’an acknowledges that humanity is made up of many nations and tribes.

Question 48

How are Muslims treated in Turkey and why?

Answer 48

• Jews are able to worship freely and their places of worship have the protection of the government when required. Jews also operate their own schools, hospitals, two elderly homes, welfare institutions, as well as a newspaper.
• Roman Catholics and Jews have occasionally been subjected to violent societal attacks.
• Turkey is secular, and its constitution provides for freedom of religion.
• Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
• In February 2006, an Italian Catholic priest was shot to death in his church in Trabzon, reportedly by a youth angered over the caricatures of Muhammad in Danish newspapers.

Question 49

How are Muslims treated in Pakistan and why?

Answer 49

• Freedom of religion in Pakistan is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan for individuals of various religions and religious sects.
• The Pakistani government does not restrict religious publishing. However, it restricts the right to freedom of speech with regard to religion.
• Speaking against Islam or publishing work against Islam is prohibited. Defiling Muhammad’s name is punishable by death or life in prison. This penal code mandates life imprisonment for desecrating the Qur’an and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for insulting another’s religious beliefs with intent to outrage religious feelings.
• It gave protection to the Hindu minority in Pakistan in return for the protection of the Muslim minority in India.

Question 50

What are the ideals behind the 2016 Marrakesh Declaration?

Answer 50

• Based on constitution of medina which gave religious freedom and is in harmony with UDHR
  
  • Freedom of movement, right to property ownership and justice before law for all people. Full protection of rights of religious groups
  • Educational establishments must address any material which causes extremism
  • Raise awareness of rights of religious minorities
  • Religious groups to reach out - interfaith dialogue and stop vilification etc

Question 51

What is apostasy?

Answer 51

Abandoning a religious belief. To be an apostate in Islam, a Muslim must retract the shahadah or proclaim prophet hood after Muhammad or follow someone who is doing this. In law, the status of an apostate (kufr tafi) is different to that of a non-believer (kufr asli). Early Muslim scholars talk of it as a death.

Question 52

What suggests that punishment for apostasy will be in the afterlife?

Answer 52

“and if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, in the hereafter they will be companions of the fire” - Qur’an

Question 52

What did Ghazali argue about the law schools?

Answer 52

Ghazali claims that any person who says that unbelief is to contradict any of the schools of thought is “dim-witted”. He argues why should one school of thought be correct about whether attributes are part of God’s essence or not. He asks how would this be decided? Would it be decided according to which school of thought came first or which school of thought possesses more virtue and knowledge. However, the latter criteria would be very difficult to measure and quantify. Anyone who tries to do this is a follower and not a leader. Anyone who tries to assign truth to one party is guilty themselves of unbelief and being contradictory. This is because by assigning truth to one party, he puts them above the Prophet who alone gives the truth. As for contradiction, somebody else will follow another school of thought and claim they are the truth, this then leads to contradictory claims.

Question 53

What was Ghazali’s criteria for an apostate?

Answer 53

• Not an apostate if they do nothing to contradict the Shahadah - only done by saying Muhammad lied
• Not an apostate over secondary issues, only over fundamental beliefs - God, Prophecy, and afterlife, as they are not open to figurative interpretation
• Are an apostate if they say the prophet lied (even if about secondary issue). Also, accusing A’isha of indecency where the Qur’an established her innocence. This can only be established by saying that Muhammad lied.
• Where a text is open to figurative interpretation, scholars need to look at logical proof and if the proof is not definitive but not a threat, this is not unbelief. Some legal matters do cause a threat to religion and then it is up to scholarly discretion (ijtihad) and speculative enquiry. They may or may not decide that these people are unbelievers e.g. Sufis who decide that they no longer need to pray and drink a lot. Ghazali thinks they should be executed as they are very harmful to the religion.

Question 54

Did Ghazali believe there was one way to come to god?

Answer 54

Ghazali says that there are all different ways of coming to God, not just by abstract proofs. Some come to God by religious experience. Speculative theology is only good for those who have doubts and those who want to teach those with doubts! Any one who believes in Muhammad and the Qur’an is a believer

Question 55

What is Ghazali’s definition of unbelief?

Answer 55

Kufr (unbelief) is to say that everything Muhammad brought to people was a lie. Iman (faith) is the opposite and is to have faith in the truth of everything Muhammad said. Unbelief has a legal status and does so because it has been referenced in the Qur’an.

Question 55

What is ontological existence?

Answer 55

The real existence of things external to our senses and mind, which receive impressions of these things and this is an apparent reality. E.g when Muhammad talks of the seven heavens

Question 56

What is sensory existence?

Answer 56

The existence that our senses perceive. It can be deceptive, so there may be no existence outside of what we see. E.g. when the prophets see angels when they are awake

Question 57

What is conceptual existence?

Answer 57

Images in our brain, when we can produce a mental image even if something is not in front of us. E.g When Muhammad talks of Jonah and God commanding him, which happened prior to Muhammad

Question 58

What is noetic existence?

Answer 58

The purpose and value of something E.g. when the quran talks of God’s hands, it is not talking of the physical form but of the function i.e. striking, seizing, giving etc. The hand seizing references god’s power

Question 59

What is analogous existence?

Answer 59

When something does not exist in the mind or reality, but something similar does. E.g. when the quran refers to god’s anger, joy etc it is really referencing something else in God which can produce the same result as anger e.g. a will to punish

Question 60

Why did Ghazali believe the law schools argued?

Answer 60

Truth is to accept what the Prophet told Muslims and to accept existence of everything. However, it is very important to realise that existence has 5 levels and these schools of thought ignore this and hence they argue. Provided what the Prophet said and what the Qur’ans says is taken on one of these five levels then that is acceptable.

Question 61

What did Ghazali say on interpretation of the Quran?

Answer 61

Ghazali says that any interpretation of the Qur’an on the 5 levels is true. To deny a statement on any of the levels is false, a lie and unbelief. These types of figurative interpretation are used by all groups in Islam and so can not be denied. He says that Hanbal tried to deny this figurative interpretation but had to admit that he had to use it with 3 Hadiths e.g. “The black stone is the right hand of God on earth.” Ghazali says that if Hanbal had been better educated in philosophy, then a lot more would have appeared logically impossible for him and so he would have had to have used figurative interpretation more!!! The Mutazalites used figurative interpretation a lot.

Question 62

When should scholars use the levels of interpretation?

Answer 62

1. Ghazali says that they should only use these levels when a statement is logically impossible. When this happens, they need to work through the levels, starting with Noetic. They must prove why one level does not work before moving onto the next. They should never call another party an unbeliever if they don’t agree with their proof. They should only be accused of being misguided.
2. The masses must follow established doctrine and not argue about it. This sort of interpretation should be left to those who are very well educated.

Question 63

When should interpreters be called unbelievers?

Answer 63

People must not be called unbelievers because they have rushed into figurative interpretation, only if the statement is to do with basic belief should it be questioned as unbelief. They need to be charged with unbelief however, if their figurative interpretation leads to confusing the masses.

Question 64

Why did Ghazali say the phliosophers are unbelievers?

Answer 64

1. If something is altered from its apparent meaning to figurative and it has to do with basic belief and they have no definitive logical proof for moving it to figurative interpretation then this is apostasy (unbelief). E.g. resurrection of the body. Ghazali says that there is no logical proof to show the impossibility of soul being returned to bodies. This has to be considered apostasy especially as if it goes public, then it will destroy the religion. This is the case with most of the philosophers and so most of them are apostates!
2. Ghazali also disagrees with saying that God only knows himself (Aristotle) and that he does not know details, just universal truths. This goes directly against what Muhammad taught and so is suggesting that Muhammad is a liar. There are also too many references in the Qur’an to treat this figuratively and by the five levels.

Question 65

What does Quran 2:108-109 say on apostasy?

Answer 65

“Whoever changes from faith to unbelief has strayed without doubt from the even way…..but forgive and overlook”

Question 66

Who did Muhammad allow capital punishment for?

Answer 66

“a married person who commits adultery; a person who murders another; and a person who leaves his religion and abandons the community of Muslim.”
- Muhammad is talking about people who betrayed the medina community. If they abandon their faith and abandon the community, they are betraying them. So some Muslims would say that you have to betray the community to deserve capital punishment

Question 67

What did Hanifa say on apostasy?

Answer 67

allowing apostates to repent is only desirable and not mandatory. If an apostate is killed before asking him to repent, the killer should not be punished.

Question 68

What did Marghinani say on apostasy?

Answer 68

repent at once or suffer

Question 69

What did Hanbali say on apostasy?

Answer 69

Hanbal viewed the repentance option as mandatory. In the Qur’an it says “Say to the unbeliever, if they give over their will, forgive them what is past.” Some jurists favoured imprisonment over capital punishment because it gave the opportunity for repentance. Most jurists agree with Hanbal and say that capital punishment should only be given if they refuse to repent. Repentance is favoured because jurists believe that apostasy is a result of misunderstanding and so they must try to remove this misunderstanding first.

Question 70

What did Al Shafi say on apostasy?

Answer 70

Al Shafi maintains that if an apostate declares the shahadah twice at his execution but is still executed, his inheritance must go to his heirs and the killer must pay blood money to his family and even suffer a punishment.

Question 71

What does Al-Shaybani say on apostasy?

Answer 71

minors should not be put to death. They should only be imprisoned and kept in prison as an adult

Question 72

What does Al Shafi say in response to Shaybani?

Answer 72

Al-Shafi rejects not giving capital punishment to minors and apostates who were not born as Muslims because Muhammad and Abu Bakr ordered the killing of apostates and, as Islam was new, these people would not have been born as Muslims.

Question 73

Must an apostate be of sound mind?

Answer 73

Most jurists said that somebody had to be of sound mind to be an apostate-they had to understand what they were doing/saying.

Question 74

How did Muhammad respond to being vilified?

Answer 74

When Muhammad took over Mecca, he ordered the execution of two singing girls who ridiculed him in their songs. He also approved of a blind man who killed a slave girl who bore him children because she repeatedly vilified Muhammad. Denouncing Islam is seen as being as harmful as an actual war.

Question 75

What do the schools of thought teach about vilification?

Answer 75

1. They all agree that it is a capital punishment offence.
2. They do not agree about the repentance option.
3. Ibn Taymiyya sees vilification as aggravated apostasy and believes that, unlike common apostasy, culprits should not be allowed to repent as it would encourage them to carry on with their dreadful activities
4. Hanbal and Anas are ascribed two different views. One which says that a vilifier is not allowed to repent and should be killed and another which says that repentance can be accepted. The same two views are ascribed to the Shafi’I school.

Question 76

What are Afghan laws on apostasy?

Answer 76

• Apostates should receive the death penalty, but can avoid prosecution if they confess to having made a mistake, and rejoin Islam.
• In addition to death, the family of the accused can be deprived of all property and possessions, and the individual’s marriage is considered dissolved in accordance with Hanafi Sunni jurisprudence

Question 77

What are Egyptian laws on apostasy?

Answer 77

• The death sentence for apostasy is a possibility. Muslims are not allowed to embrace another religion.

Question 78

What are Iraqi laws on apostasy?

Answer 78

• The constitution of Iraq guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, religious belief and practice, despite Islam being the official religion

Question 79

What are Pakistani laws on apostasy?

Answer 79

• There is no law that criminalises apostasy. Apostates can be prosecuted under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, if they desecrate the Quran or make derogatory remarks against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, Pakistan has blasphemy law that carries death penalty, but the law does not define blasphemy.

Question 80

What did Salman Rushdie do?

Answer 80

Salman Rushdie wrote the Satanic verses and Ayatollah Khomeini issued a Fatwa against him. Most Muslim proclaim that these verses came from the devil but Rushdie said that they had come from Gabriel. This sparked violence in the Muslim world , burning copies of the book and Iran broke diplomatic relations with Britain. Rushdie was put under police protection from 2 years.

Question 81

What happened to Abdul Rahman?

Answer 81

In March 2006, an Afghan citizen Abdul Rahman was charged with apostasy and could have faced the death penalty for converting to Christianity. His case attracted much international attention with Western countries condemning Afghanistan for persecuting a convert. Charges against Abdul Rahman were dismissed on technical grounds by the Afghan court after intervention by the president Hamid Karzai. He was released and left the country to find refuge in Italy.