The “blossom of democracy” in the middle east—Afghanistan—is about to execute a man for converting to Christianity. This in itself isn’t surprising considering the state of things in the country. What is surprising is that the execution is progressing forward with mainstream support—not only from the Afghanis, but from Muslims all across the middle east.

Of course, the U.S. official stance is that the whole situation (executing someone for their religious beliefs) is horrific. However, if the U.S. interferes in the situation it will fuel the fire burning inside Muslims all across the middle east who feel that the West is meddling in affairs it should not. I sort of agree with that sentiment—but probably not in the way that you’d think.

I personally believe that liberty and enlightenment must come from within. You can preach and demonstrate the benefits of freedom and tolerance all day, but in the end it is the people themselves who must choose to take that path. It is human nature to distrust the unknown and it is the nature of fundamentalist religions to entangle the minds of followers with mental roadblocks of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). Getting past this can be difficult and can take many generations. It is wishful thinking to believe that Afghanistan could become tolerant and free over the course of a few short years.

We shouldn’t give up hope, however. The man is on trial, he has not been found guilty of anything and it is possible that the Afghan people could surprise the world with a bit of progress. A grand showing of liberty and acceptance along with an advertisement, “We need your help to make Afghanistan a better place” just might benefit the country more than any of it’s citizens could know.