The Predicament That Abdul Rahman Is In...

If you want to get an idea of the view of moderate clerics in Afghanistan to Mr. Rahman's conversion to Christianity, read this quote from a report in the Jerusalem Post (HT: ASullivan):

Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that Rahman must be executed and if the government caves into Western pressure and frees him they will incite people to 'pull him into pieces.' Four senior clerics interviewed by The Associated Press in their mosques in Kabul agreed Rahman deserved to be killed for his conversion.

'He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian,' said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque.

'The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed.'

'He is not mad. The government is playing games. The people will not be fooled,' said Abdul Raoulf, cleric at Herati Mosque. 'This is humiliating for Islam. ... Cut off his head.'

Raoulf is considered a moderate cleric in Afghanistan.