KABUL (Reuters) - Members of the Afghan parliament condemned the release of a man who denied Islam, insisting on Wednesday he should not be allowed to leave the country, as Italy appeared ready to offer him asylum.

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Abdur Rahman, 40, was jailed this month for converting to Christianity, and could have faced trial under Islamic sharia law stipulating death as punishment for apostasy.

He was freed from prison on Tuesday after pressure from Western states whose troops helped bring the Afghan government to power.

"The release of Abdur Rahman was contrary to the existing laws of Afghanistan," Yunus Qanuni, president of the lower house of parliament, told the assembly during an unscheduled debate on the case.

"Abdur Rahman should not flee and should not be allowed to leave Afghanistan ... he should be kept under supervision," he said.

Rahman's jailing raised a storm of protest in the West, with the United States leading calls for his religious freedom to be respected and for him to be released.

His whereabouts were being kept secret to ensure his safety, officials said, but there was no indication on Wednesday he had left the country.

Afghanistan's Western-backed government has been seeking a way out of the crisis but has had to be mindful of conservatives demanding Rahman be punished under Islamic law, and warning of trouble if he were not.

Several members of parliament said Rahman should not be allowed to leave but should be executed. One member, who is also a cleric, said Rahman's release would provide ammunition to the government's enemies.

"This will pave the way for the opponents of the government to say war against the government is legitimate," said Abdul Aziz.

ITALY TO OFFER ASYLUM?

Qanuni said members of the Supreme Court and prosecutors should be summoned to parliament to explain Rahman's release.

The United Nations said Rahman had requested asylum abroad and it hoped one of the countries involved in the controversy would accept him.

Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Tuesday he would ask a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to offer Rahman "hospitality" in Italy.

Rahman became a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago. He later lived in Germany before returning to Afghanistan.

He was detained after his relatives told authorities he had converted to Christianity following a dispute involving two daughters. Relatives later said Rahman had suffered from mental problems, although he denied that.

Judicial officials had raised questions about his mental state and said he had to undergo psychiatric tests.

President Hamid Karzai has made no public comment on the case.

Religion is a very sensitive issue in deeply conservative Afghanistan.

Violent protests erupted in February over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in European newspapers. Last year violence broke out over a magazine report that U.S. military interrogators had desecrated the Koran.

About 1,000 people rallied in a northern city on Monday to demand Rahman be executed but there have been no protests over the case since then.