A month ago I had a chance to meet a man, Ali Maqiq Nasab, who was in
search of funding for his magazine. The name of his magazine is
"Hoqoq-e-Zan", or better call it "Woman's Rights". He looked not more than
50. Was open minded and tough against those who use religion for their
personal benefits. I talked with him a little. Though he is a religious
scholar who supports the idea of federalism for Afghanistan-which I don't
support in the current situation- but talks as openly as possible. He
belongs to Hazara minority and has a deep knowledge about Islamic religious
matters. In his magazine he raises issues that are very sensitive and all
cannot take the risk. Though we have excellent journals and magazines (like
Rozgaran, Hambastagi, Taraqi, Shafaq, and a few others inside and the
Message of Woman outside Afghanistan) that touches political and social
issues that are not free of risk, but he challenge the authority of
religious scholars who use religion for political gain by using their own
source of power that is Koran and hadith of prophet.  

The vital point about Maqiq Nasab and his magazine is the religious issues
that he focus on from intellectual point of view. It is like the war of
enlightenment against popery and medievalism in Middle Ages of Europe. In an
issue under the title of "Woman and Heresy", (written by an Iranian writer
and published in his magazine), they argue that conversion (from Islam) is a
personal matter and there is not any direct or specific verse in Koran or
any hadith from prophet Mohammad that condemn and sentence the heretic to
capital punishment. Also, his magazine challenge many other Islamic issues
that are held by religious scholars. In short, he seems everything between
himself and his God and to make the contact he argues we don't need any
mediator between people in this world and their God.

 Soon these issues, particularly the 'woman and heresy' article, instigated
many religious scholars that use Islam and religion for their personal
gains. Finally two religious consultant of Karzai ordered the court to
investigate the article and indirectly instructed the court to arrest the
man and put him in trial for blasphemy. The police arrested Maqiq Nasib
almost three weeks ago and finally sentenced him to two years behind bar on
23 of October 2005. Worth mentioning that some religious authorities asked
capital punishment, but under public pressure and journalists, they didn't
pass death sentence. During court proceedings, it seemed that police behaved
inhumanly towards him. They shaved his hair to humiliate him. Interestingly
that the Ministry of Information and Tourism and associations of journalists
condemned his arrest and they all want independent inquiry on the matter.

The arrest and sentence of Maqiq Nasab shows that freedom of speech in
Afghanistan has a strict limit. You can publish all the rubbish things in
your newspaper and you can show the half naked dance of Britney Spears; you
can show the sex scenes of Hollywood movies, and you can sell porno CDs in
open markets in Kabul, but you are not allowed to touch issues that change
the social and political fate of Afghan people and government. You cannot
challenge 'political religious scholars' because you are not allowed to
prove that what they say is not what they do. You are not allowed to
criticize religion's shortcomings, because it provides the oppressor and
tyrant rulers a good and unchallenged excuse to keep people ignorant and let
them not grab new ideas and thoughts. 

Condemnation of Maqiq Nasab reminds me the case of so many bright minded
people in the Middle Ages that challenged the authority of church and popes.
It reminds me the turmoil of hundreds of scientists who opened new windows
in front of Western people. But unfortunately here political issues don't
allow real progress and achievement. Here we are bond to either accept or
face punishment. 

It is the beginning of an unstopped war against enlightenment and progress.
If today they sentence Maqiq Nasab under the name of Islam and religion,
tomorrow they will arrest democracy-loving people and journalists under the
name of protecting Karzai's corrupt regime against enemies of state and law.

But we have to cross this thorny way if want real freedom and progress.

*Human Rights Activist