From the Land of Rugs Comes Religious Freedom

This just in from CNN. But as Rummy has said before, "Democracy is messy."

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italy has offered asylum to an Afghan Christian convert who had faced the death penalty, but members of the Afghan parliament condemned his release from jail and voted not to let him leave the country.

Abdur Rahman, 41, was jailed this month for abandoning Islam and could have faced trial under Islamic sharia law that stipulates the death penalty as punishment for apostasy.

He was freed from prison on Tuesday after pressure from Western states whose troops helped bring the Afghan government to power. His whereabouts were not immediately known and the United Nations says he is seeking asylum abroad.