Mohammad caricatures

[Aristotle]

Reasonable?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=1743620

KABUL, Afghanistan Mar 19, 2006 (AP)— An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic laws, a judge said Sunday.

He can get the death penalty because he converted to Christianity.

These are reasonable people?

[drasoini]

No, those are stupidly twisted people who were kept nearly uneducated and 'brainwashed' into blindly following the rules of a theocracy. They still haven't given those rules up, either.

[Gillan]

Is it appropriate to start nuking these people yet?

[Delryn]

No, those are stupidly twisted people who were kept nearly uneducated and 'brainwashed' into blindly following the rules of a theocracy. They still haven't given those rules up, either.

People who i believe were handpicked by the US/UN at first and later elected by a majority of the people.

If the majority of the afghani people believe this part of the sharia law should be enforced then shouldn't it?
Isn't that what democracy is about?

[Graeblyn]

A lot of people confuse democracy with ochlocracy. Killing religious minorities because 50%+ of the population would like to is not democratic.

[Solubynn]

I see a few things worth responding to.

Originally posted by Delryn
People who i believe were handpicked by the US/UN at first and later elected by a majority of the people.

If the majority of the afghani people believe this part of the sharia law should be enforced then shouldn't it?
Isn't that what democracy is about?

While you raise a good question, allow me to add that sentencing someone to death for converting to another religion is not part of the Sharia.

Originally posted by Graeblyn
A lot of people confuse democracy with ochlocracy. Killing religious minorities because 50%+ of the population would like to is not democratic.

I'm unsure if the example you gave in the end was to summarize the situation, in which case I'm disturbed at your sense of comparison, or if it was just to support your argument.

In any case, there's something in the article that people might've missed that is worth mentioning (important words are highlighted):

Quoted from the article
The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take here four years after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime.

Also, I suggest for this issue to be moved to a new thread because it seems off-topic to me.

[Graeblyn]

Originally posted by Solubynn
I'm unsure if the example you gave in the end was to summarize the situation, in which case I'm disturbed at your sense of comparison, or if it was just to support your argument.

What the religious conservatives are proposing is killing someone because he is now a Christian convert. Whether or not that is part of Sharia law or not isn't really the point. What I was responding to was the idea that such a law could be democratic simply because non-christians represent a majority in Afghanistan and may support executing christians.