http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060326/...4yBHNlYwNmYw--
Afghan convert says ready to die for Christianity
ROME (Reuters) - An Afghan man who faces a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity has told an Italian newspaper he is ready to die for his new faith.
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"I don't want to die. But if God decides, I am ready to confront my choices, all the way," Abdur Rahman was quoted as saying in Sunday's La Repubblica.
The Italian newspaper conducted the interview by sending Rahman written questions via a human rights worker who visited him in jail outside Kabul.
Rahman, 40, could be hanged if found guilty of apostasy, which is punishable by death under Sharia (Islamic) law. His trial is due to start in a few days.
Rahman said he would defend himself in court as no lawyer would want to. He also said he did not want to leave Afghanistan, a possible option if he is allowed to go free.
When asked if he would go abroad, he said: "Perhaps, but if I flee again that would mean my country hasn't changed. It would mean that they have won, our enemies. Without human rights, without respect for all religions, the Taliban have won."
His case has sparked outrage in the United States and Europe and threatens to drive a wedge between Afghanistan and the Western backers who secure and finance the country.
U.S. President George W. Bush and several other Western leaders have expressed concern about Rahman's fate. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she had spoken to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the issue.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Pope Benedict wrote to Karzai asking that the charges be dropped, an act that would "bestow great honor upon the Afghan people and would raise a chorus of admiration in the international community."
In his weekly Angelus address, Benedict called for more religious freedom in countries where Christians are persecuted.
"My thoughts turn ... to those communities which live in countries where there is no religious freedom, or where, despite it being set out on paper, there are many restrictions," he told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.
International pressure on Afghanistan to respect Rahman's religious freedom has been met in Afghanistan by calls for him to be executed, and a threat of rebellion if the government frees him.
Rahman said he converted to Christianity after leaving Afghanistan 16 years ago. In Pakistan he worked for a humanitarian organization where Catholics told him of their faith.
"I read the Bible and it opened my heart and mind," he said.