by Matthew Archbold –
An Afghanistan Christian and father of six, is imprisoned and scheduled to die. His crime? He believes Christ is his Savior. And he is scheduled to die because of it. No defense lawyer will take his case for fear of retribution. And he has been told that if he renounces Christ things would go easier. But he doesn’t. He won’t.
Said Musa, who lost his leg from a landmine in the 1990’s and has worked since then as a medical worker for the Red Cross fitting children with prosthetics, has been in jail for eight months. According to a public letter written by him and addressed to our President and the world community, he has been brutally tortured and abused in every way possible, both by guards and inmates.
As of yet the media and the world seem to have taken little notice of Said Musa. There are currently less than 100 mentions of Musa in the news and most of them are not considered part of the mainstream media, other than the Wall Street Journal.
Musa wrote a public letter which I will excerpt here, courtesy of The Barnabus Fund. The English is rough but I think you’ll understand what he’s saying:
“To the international church of world and to the President Brother Barak Obama President of the United States and to the head of ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] in Afghanistan!
“My name is Said Musa 45 years old. I have been working since 15 years as a Physiotherapist in I-C-R-C [International Committee of the Red Cross] orthopaedic centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. About four and a half months before by security force of Afghanistan I [was] captured, due to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world.
…Since that time I am in jail. The authority and prisoners in jail did many bad behaviour with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, they did sexual things with me, beat me by wood, by hands, by legs, put some things on my head, mocked me ‘He’s Jesus Christ’, spat on me, nobody let me for sleep night and day. Every person spat on me and beat me. Also the prosecutor wrote something wrong against me. He told from himself something wrong against me on my file.
“He is stimulating every day the prisoners against me, ‘He is also in jail due to spy for Iran country’, to reveal the church in Kabul. I’m in a very and very bad condition in the jail.
“I agree with long imprisonment about my faith even for long life. Because I’m the sinnest person in the world. Because sometimes they treated for died I refuse my faith due to died. Sometimes I tolerate the persecution but immediately I acknowledge my sin before Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Don’t refuse me before your holy angels and before your Father.’ Because I am very very weak and sinful man…
I am alone between 400 handlers of terrible values in the jail like a sheep. Please, please, for the sake of Lord Jesus Christ help me. Please send a person who should supervise my document and my file, what I said in it. My prosecutor has told something wrong to the judge because he asked [for] money but I refused his request. Please, please you should transfer me from this jail to a jail that supervises the believers. I also agree with died on cross of my pride. I also agree with the sacrifice [of] my life in public, I will tell the faith in Lord Jesus Christ son of God and other believers will take courage and be strong in their faith. Hundred percent I am stable to my word. I have family of seven – one wife, three daughters and three sons. My big son [is] about eight years old. One of my daughters can’t speak, she has some mental problems.
“This is a request from me to all over the world, people please help me. I could not have any person to help. For [the] sake [of] Lord Jesus Christ please pray and immediately help me and rescue me from this jail. Otherwise, they will kill me, because I know they’re very very very cruel and hard hearted!
“Your destitute brother in the world.
“Please my English writing is not enough good. If I did some mistake please forgive me! From Kabul Provincial jail.”
I have to wonder how this can be going on when American troops are in Afghanistan.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. embassy officials have said they’ve called for his release as and have expressed their “strong concern.”
But Afghani officials have insisted that “the sentence for a convert is death and there is no exception.”
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Canadian government to stand up for Said. Writing on the bishops’ behalf, Archbishop Brendan O’Brien of Kingston, chairman of the CCCB Human Rights Committee, wrote:
We urge the Government of Canada to express its condemnation of this religious persecution, and to intervene with the Government of Afghanistan for mercy and clemency for Mr. Sayed.
Pope Benedict XVI recently decried the persecution of Christians throughout the world as well, bringing attention to the issue.
I have always supported America’s mission in Afghanistan but if we do nothing while the country we’re fighting for puts a Christian to death simply for being a Christian, I can’t think of how we can continue to support the mission. This is not a fringe element imprisoning Musa. This is the government of Afghanistan which we are propping up with our military presence. Our young men and women are dying for this mission while the Afghani government may be set to kill a man for the crime of being Christian?
I pray to God that our President, his administration, and world leaders are working behind the scenes to ensure that Said Musa is not put to death for his Christianity. I pray that he is not forgotten. I pray for strength for Said Musa. I pray that I too would have the faith he has shown by recently saying, “My body is theirs to do what they want with. Only God can decide if my spirit goes to hell.”
I am in awe of such faith. And all I can do is pray for him and ask others to pray that President Obama and other world leaders will do all they can possibly do to cease the killing of Said Musa and persecuted Christians all around the world.
HT: NC Register
