Norway: Convert to Christianity denied asylum, counseled to return to Islam

A 28 old Afghani who was baptized and goes to Church every Sunday is being encouraged by the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board to convert back to Islam.

Afghans who have converted get automatic residence in Norway, but the appeals board doesn't believe that the man is really a Christian and have denied his latest request for a residence permit.

"Don't they understand that I'll be killed if I go back?" he told newspaper Vårt Land.

The man claims he can get a death punishment if he goes back to Afghanistan as a Christian.

Until the police come and get him, he's living by a pensioner doctor in Lillehammer.

He was baptized in 2006 in Josvakirka in Gjøvik, three years after his asylum request was first rejected.

The Appeals Board thinks his statements about his Christian convictions strongly conflict with what he formerly told them when he first met Christianity.

In their rejection notice, the board encourage the Afghani to go back to his old faith in order to prevent problems in Afghanistan. They make a special point of saying that Muslim law enables people who have converted to come back.

The support network for Afghani refugees think that the Norwegian government is trying to decide which religion people should adhere to and that this conflicts with freedom of religion.

The Immigration Appeals Board denies the accusations.

Source: NRK (Norwegian)

See also: Norway: Christianity to save Afghanis