February 6, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC – The Institute on Religion and Public Policy urges Afghan authorities immediately to drop charges against two Afghans facing the death penalty for distributing a translation of the Quran around Kabul. The men, along with four others, are due to stand at a Feb. 8 appeals court hearing that could decide their fate.

In 2007, Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai (pictured left), a spokesman for the attorney general, helped print 1,000 copies of an Afghan language translation of the Quran. Because the translation did not have the original Arabic verses of the Quran, Islamic clerics accused Zalmai of breaking Shariah law by modifying the holy book. He has been in prison for more than a year, along with cleric Qari Mushtaq Ahmad of the Kabul mosque, who asked him to reprint the translation (pictured right).

Zalmai's case shows Afghan courts reverting to Islamic law in the absence of secular statutes, and underscores the country's legal and constitutional ambiguities that end in harming its religious freedom. Islam is Afghanistan's official state religion and the constitution states that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam." While Afghanistan has made commitments to observe international human rights standards, the law currently has gaps or is vague on points such as blasphemy or conversion, leaving them open to strict Islamic interpretation.

Apart from Zalmai's case, two other recent cases demonstrate the dangerous lack of legal clarity. In 2006, Abdul Rahman faced death for converting to Christianity. Last year, Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh also faced execution for allegedly distributing literature questioning the role of women's rights in Islam that was deemed insulting to the faith.

"Under the universal right of freedom of religious expression and even the Constitution of Afghanistan, these men violated no law in translating the Quran as they did," said Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski. "Such disputes on religious practice or theology should remain within the confines of the faith, without the state or its judiciary becoming involved or handing down verdicts."

The Institute has warned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and new Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke of the poor status of religious freedom in Afghanistan. "Religious freedom is a matter of great importance to me and to Secretary Clinton," Holbrooke wrote to the Institute last month. "I assure you that we will keep this issue in our minds as we re-examine American policy."

Institute on Religion and Public Policy