Muslims around the world can breathe a deep collective sigh of relief now that Afghanistan appears to be on the road to becoming an Islamic state that ALL Muslims can be proud of.
Last week saw the 'Kite Runner', a film based on the incredible book by Khalid Hosseini following the lives of 2 Afghan boys, banned in the country and today it was reported that a journalist would be put to death for blasphemy. Although according to Shamsur Rahman, the head of the court, the condemned man, Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, still has to go through three more courts to declare his eventual fate. Fellow journalists have been told not to make a fuss or they will be arrested.
The blasphemous act carried out by Kambakhsh was to download material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic society. He should count himself lucky he wasn't caught doing something really naughty like laughing.
Islam's bibliophobic traditions have been well documented ever since 641AD when Alexandria fell into the hands of Muslims. General Amr ibn al-As ordered all books in the library to be burned, one by one. "If they are in agreement with the Koran, they are superfluous. If they are not in agreement, they are dangerous', he drunkenly told Abdul, his 10 year old 'bed warmer'.
Reuters report
Last week saw the 'Kite Runner', a film based on the incredible book by Khalid Hosseini following the lives of 2 Afghan boys, banned in the country and today it was reported that a journalist would be put to death for blasphemy. Although according to Shamsur Rahman, the head of the court, the condemned man, Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, still has to go through three more courts to declare his eventual fate. Fellow journalists have been told not to make a fuss or they will be arrested.
The blasphemous act carried out by Kambakhsh was to download material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic society. He should count himself lucky he wasn't caught doing something really naughty like laughing.
Islam's bibliophobic traditions have been well documented ever since 641AD when Alexandria fell into the hands of Muslims. General Amr ibn al-As ordered all books in the library to be burned, one by one. "If they are in agreement with the Koran, they are superfluous. If they are not in agreement, they are dangerous', he drunkenly told Abdul, his 10 year old 'bed warmer'.
Reuters report