Afghani writer Ahmad Javeed Ahwar was forced into exile when, without permission, a newspaper syndicated an op-ed he wrote that was critical of ISIS, Islam, and God.
In October 2014, Afghan newspaper columnist Ahmad Javeed Ahwar published an article in the English Kabul-based Afghanistan Express. In this column, he directly blamed the Islamic faith for emboldening the Taliban and the Islamic State and for giving them their murderous, militant ideologies in the first place. He condemned the God of scripture for endorsing the killing of the unfaithful and called Islam an intolerant faith, going on to say that effecting positive change for people in this life is more important than preparing for a hypothetical next one.
"This kind of writing is destabilizing to the country." - Fazl Hadi Wazin, Salam University scholar of Islam
His arguments were standard humanistic critiques of religion, but in devout Afghanistan, they were not standard at all. Rather, they warranted his execution. Demonstrators protested against the newspaper, which distanced itself from Ahmad and claimed to have published the article by mistake. The protesters demanded Ahmad be sentenced to death. Afghan political authorities expressed their own condemnations of Ahmad’s words as well as their willingness to take punitive action. They arrested the editor of the Express in connection with the incident.
Had Ahmad not been in the Netherlands where he sought asylum, he could well have been arrested, tried, and sentenced.
Afghan 'Blasphemy' Case An Early Test For New Government - Radio Free Liberty/Radio Liberty
An author questioned God in Afghanistan's press. Here's what happened next - The World
Afghan newspaper’s ‘blasphemy’ causes protests after rebuking Isis and Islam - The Guardian
Prior to August 2021, Afghanistan was an Islamic republic, with blasphemy and apostasy theoretically punishable by death. However, a limited degree of secularism existed, including permissions for the listening of music and for girls to attend school. With the resurgence of the Taliban and the reestablishment of their "Islamic emirate," these embers of secularism are slated to be snuffed out in a government with absolutely no religion-state separation. Blasphemy, apostasy, and a host of other "un-Islamic" behaviors are likely to be punished with death, more frequently and more brutally than under the previous U.S.-backed government.