Preachers call for convert's death

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 24 (UPI) -- Afghan Muslim leaders at Friday prayers called for the execution of a Christian convert and demanded that the government resist international pressure.

The New York Times reported that the prosecution of Abdul Rahman has brought out the contradictions in Afghanistan's constitution, which promises both freedom of religion and the supremacy of Islam.

For many clerics, the later matters more than the former.

"Afghanistan does not have any obligation under international laws," Maulavi Habibullah told worshippers in Kabul. "The prophet says, when somebody changes religion, he must be killed."

U.S. President George W. Bush and European leaders have asked Afghan President Hamid Karzai to intervene in the case.

Rahman, at a preliminary hearing, acknowledged he had been a Christian for 15 years. His family reported his conversion when he tried to get custody of his children.