No Asylum for Apostates

In the old days, when a foreigner sought asylum in a Western country he was attempting to escape from a brutal dictatorship, usually a communist regime. A defector from a hockey team or a ballet troupe in an East Bloc country would typically slip his handlers in New York or London and be granted asylum in the host country.

But not anymore. “Asylum” is now what is granted to virtually any nondescript from the Third World who lands in a European country and destroys his identity documents upon arrival. If you’re from a Muslim hellhole, and can manage to get to Geneva or Stockholm, you are all but certain to be granted asylum privileges. At the very least, you can expect your case to drag on for years while various bureaucracies play ping-pong with your paperwork, during which time you can disappear into the undocumented underground among your ethnic fellows in their urban ghetto.

It would be better for all native Europeans if the “asylum” concept were abolished entirely. Since that isn’t in the cards, it ought to be applied fairly and equally for all new arrivals. No one will be surprised, however, to learn that Muslims are treated differently from non-Muslims, and that Christian converts from Islam receive especially unfavorable treatment.

Our Norwegian correspondent The Observer has translated a report about an apostate from Islam who was denied the sanctuary that so many adherents of his former religion are routinely granted.

The translator includes this note:

This article from Utrop (an immigrant newspaper) concerns an Afghan asylum seeker who converted to Christianity and was attacked as a result of his conversion by another Muslim at an asylum centre in southwestern Norway about a year ago.

The Afghan has now been ordered to leave the country. The reason given by the Norwegian authorities for the failed asylum application is that they don’t believe his conversion is sincere.

The translated article:

Christian convert ordered to leave Norway

The Afghan male who was attacked at an asylum centre in Jæren lost his bid to remain in Norway

By Aon R. Naqvi

Last summer several newspapers wrote about “Ali” the asylum seeker at Hå reception center in Jæren who received second degree burns to his neck and left shoulder after another resident threw boiling water on him.

“Two Muslim residents asked me why I didn’t fast during Ramadan. When I failed to answer them, they started discussing. One of them told me that he knew I was a former Muslim and that I had converted to Christianity. He told me that they had to perform Jihad,” the Afghan said after the attack.

Gulating Court of appeal has now reversed the original judgment against the Somali who carried out the attack due to lack of evidence proving that the perpetrator acted intentionally or negligently, the Christian internet site, Korsets Seier (KS.no) writes on their web site.

The long arm of the law

Ali, who does not wish to reveal his identity, won the first round in the courts. The offender was originally ordered to pay Nok 40,000 in damages and was given a suspended sentence.

“During the trial in the district court, the public prosecutor argued that it could not be proven that the attack was deliberate. However the two lay judges who formed the majority in the court found that the defendant had acted intentionally. The verdict was appealed by the attorney general and the defendant.”

The Irony of the law

“Ali’s” bid to stay in Norway was also rejected and the Afghan now has until Friday April 20 to leave the country.

“The Immigration Board of Appeals (UNE) doesn’t believe that Ali is a true Christian. They believe that the conversion was an attempt to secure a Norwegian residence permit. Neither the baptism at the Church in Bryne or ‘the alleged conversion’ is deemed to be sincere according to a unanimous verdict from the UNE,” writes Korsets Seier.

The decision was heavily criticized by the local Pastor, Håvard Sandve. The lawyers at the UNE have no understanding of what religion is and what it means to convert.

“They have ignored everything I told them about the man, and I have known him for a long time,” he tells Stavanger Aftenblad.

Feels betrayed

According to the man’s lawyer, Liss Byrkjedal, the Afghan feels let down. Byrkjedal is adamant that he has a firm and clear Christian conviction.

“I thought Norway was a country in which human rights were respected. They have denied my case and rejected my application for asylum. How am I supposed to fight them?” the Afghan asks KS.no