NY Times finally gets a clue

Submitted by John in Michigan, USA (United States), May 17, 2008 at 00:03

I had to chuckle when I read the NY Times Op-Ed "President Apostate?" by Edward N. Luttwak. It covers a few of the same details already covered much better, and MUCH sooner, by Dr. Pipes. However, it does mention one angle that I have not heard Dr. Pipes mention explicitly (yet): "Because no government is likely to allow the prosecution [for apostasy] of a President Obama — not even those of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the only two countries where Islamic religious courts dominate over secular law — another provision of Muslim law is perhaps more relevant: it prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing."

At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama's conversion to Christianity once it became widely known — as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House.

This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad." The security planning angle during visits is a pretty dramatic problem. Imagine being the Secret Service agent in charge - you'd have to isolate your protectee from all local security services, and yet somehow avoid offending them...

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