This morning, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) issued a press release expressing serious concerns about the proposed constitution for Afghanistan, which could be approved as early as December.
According to the report, also published in today's New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/01/opinion/01BANS.html), the proposed constitution would enshrine elements of Sharia law, including blasphemy, apostasy, and other religious crimes. When the USCIRF spoke with Afghanistan's chief justice, Fazl Hadi Shinwari, he told them that he accepted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights with three exceptions: freedom of expression, freedom of religion and equality of the sexes. He said that the Koran is "the only law." If this constitution is ratified by the loya jirga (grand council) in December, Islamic law could be used to suppress any dissenting thought or religious faiths other than Islam.
We encourage you to raise your concerns with your federal government officials, urging them to pressure the Afghani government to accept the entire Universal Declaration on Human Rights. For links, go to our links page. Pray that those drafting the constitution will listen to international concerns and institute the necessary changes before bringing it to a vote.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Afghanistan, go to the Afghanistan Country Report.
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