JPFO Alerts

Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Inc.
P.O. Box 270143
Hartford, WI 53027

Phone (800) 869-1884
Fax (425) 451-3959

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March 24, 2006

Afghan Christian Faces Trial, Death for Religious Faith – Why?

News reports tell us that Abdul Rahman will stand trial on charges of rejecting Islam. He admittedly converted to Christianity about 16 years ago. If convicted, Rahman could face the death sentence under Sharia law unless he recants his faith.

Read the story at Cybercast News Service, www.cnsnews.com:

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\ForeignBureaus\archive\200603\FOR20060322c.html

(or http://tinyurl.com/ktx8b )

How in the 21st Century can a government, which belongs to the United Nations, put on trial and possibly execute a man purely because of his religious faith?

The answer is starkly simple and has three parts.

First, Afghanistan does not have a Bill of Rights culture. Our Bill of Rights, in the First Amendment, expressly restrains government from interfering at all with the free exercise of religion. In a Bill of Rights culture, the protection of the individual right to religious belief and observance is unquestioned and fully enforced.

Second, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a creature of the United Nations, protects no person from any persecution. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration guarantees:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Fat lot of good Article 18 is doing Mr. Rahman in Afghanistan. That nation is right now persecuting Rahman for his religion and for changing his religion. That persecution directly violates Article 18.

A similar guarantee of religious freedom appears in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The International Covenant is a treaty, signed by Afghanistan’s government, and supposedly has the force of law. That document doesn’t seem to be helping Mr. Rahman either.

So – this December, when the President or some other dignitary celebrates the anniversary of the U.S. Bill of Rights at the same time as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you will be entitled to shout “fraud” and to boo down the UN’s counterfeit guarantee. Our Bill of Rights means what it says; the Universal Declaration is a joke of the worst order.

Third, the United Nations has no moral compass to guide it toward protecting individual rights. If the Universal Declaration and the International Covenant meant anything, then the UN would have already passed a resolution to free Mr. Rahman. If Afghanistan did not then free him, the UN would send in troops to free him. That’s how you protect a human right – you employ organized force with moral and legal authority to protect every single person’s rights.

Not one of us can count on the UN to protect us from anything. It can’t help a single person; and it does nothing in the face of wholesale genocide (as in Rwanda and Cambodia).

What to do? Certainly there are actions you can take to protest Afghanistan’s persecution of Mr. Rahman – contact the Afghanistan Embassy, for example. Their website: www.embassy-worldwide.com .

Your church or synagogue can submit protests as well. If you are Muslim, your voice calling for religious freedom might be particularly helpful.

For the long term, we need to re-establish and preserve a Bill of Rights Culture. We Americans need to take the Bill of Rights seriously. If we do, we’ll benefit in so many ways. Read the two-part article on our website to get a good idea about what we mean. It’s the America we used to have and we should restore now, if we want to support and defend our Bill of Rights now and for the future. Click on: http://www.jpfo.org/borculture.htm

To learn more about the Bill of Rights and its many guaranteed rights, and to learn about the counterfeit Universal Declaration, visit our bookstore and navigate our website. Consider these resources:

* Gran’pa Jack booklet No.3, the “Common Sense” booklet, describes every right and protection in the Bill of Rights.

* Gran’pa Jack booklet No. 5, entitled “The United Nations is Killing Your Freedoms”, compares the Universal Declaration’s supposed protection of rights against the much superior Bill of Rights’ protections.

* Our newest video, “Bill of Rights or Bust!” delivers a clear and easy understanding of the Bill of Rights that every American should understand.

There are also several other articles on our website about the Bill of Rights that can build your understanding and empower you to help protect it.

The evils that our Founders wanted to avoid still prevail in some parts of the world. Freedom is not free; its defense requires eternal effort.

Mr. Rahman may be imprisoned or die for exercising his fundamental human right. What will the average American do tomorrow to protect our rights?

The Liberty Crew