"Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity. That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, then we will forgive him."

So says Ansarullah Mawlafizada, the Afghanistan trial judge presiding over the case of Abdul Rahman. 

That "If" in the quote?  It's a big "if."

Mr. Rahman does not deny his crime, nor does he appear to regret it.   He stands accused of converting to Christianity.  If he refuses to renounce Christianity --- and so far, he has --- he faces the death penalty.

There is a possibility that the state will bow to international pressure and release him; but the result of that might well be a lynching, according to this WaPo/AP article:

Senior Muslim clerics demanded Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity be executed, warning that if the government caves in to Western pressure and frees him, they will incite people to "pull him into pieces"....

"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate and was jailed three times for opposing the Taliban before the hard-line regime was ousted in 2001.

Take a look at the pics of Rahman in the article:  you may be looking at a genuine martyr.  Let's hope not.  Let's hope that thinking Muslims and thinking Christians, however, start sitting up and paying attention.