NEWSMAX: Dr. Richard Land, a leading figure in the influential Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), tells Newsmax that Youcef Nadarkhani is still alive today only because of the worldwide outpouring of support…
Nadarkhani, the father of two small children, was sentenced in 2010 to death by hanging, and has now been imprisoned for more than 873 days in northern Iran. His case has ignited a maelstrom of outrage that has reached more than 960,000 Twitter users around the world and done something that few thought possible in Washington, D.C. — unite Republicans and Democrats in an election year…
In this case, apostasy is interpreted as abandoning Islam. The original indictment against Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor who became a Christian at age 19, also accused him of organizing evangelistic meetings, sharing his faith, trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, running a house church, and rejecting Islamic values… (more)
EDITOR: Islam is tolerant of other religions. But once accepting the faith, conversion to another religion is proscribed, especially undermining the faith of fellow Muslims. In protecting Nadarkhani right to evangelize Christianity, we confront Muslim core values.
Nadarkhani was fully aware of the implications of his actions, not that different from publicly burning a stack of Korans.
Martyrs martyr. We can respect their courage and often the long term benefits to society of their actions, but we cannot always support and protect single individuals who create controversies that embroil the world in controversy and endanger the lives of thousands if not hundreds of thousands.
Almost two billion Muslims have a right to their religious views also.