Two Men Go Missing

In Africa and Central Asia, two very different men have gone missing.

One has killed tens or hundreds of thousands and sunk his country into a long, devastating war. Lawrence Taylor, the Idi Amin of Liberia, escaped from his villa in Nigeria, presumably to return home to foment more death and destruction in the name of his ego.

The response was muted and diplomatic. UN, the United States and many more nations expressed concern because Taylor was neither in his swank villa or at the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, the two preferred places for him. (See BBC's report)

The other man, Abdul Rahman, was released from a high security prison in Afghanistan, picked up by his family, and gone.

The response was decidedly not diplomatic in his home country:

"Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it," said senior Cleric Faiez Mohammed, from the nearby northern city of Kunduz. "The Christian foreigners occupying Afghanistan are attacking our religion." (AP)

And Reuters: "If the government doesn't kill him, people in all provinces will demonstrate," said one young man, Mujibur Rahman. "All Muslims will be anti-government."

Another Kabul resident, Abdul Samad, said an example should have been made.

"People will follow this guy, seeking asylum and getting money from the West. We asked the government to execute this man at a public stadium as a lesson to others," he said.

So the man who taught his followers to hack off the hands and feet of opponents so that he might assume power is gone, and met with calls that he be sent to trial.

And the man who followed the teachings of a savior who washed the feet of others so that they might assume eternity is gone, and met with calls that he be killed in the street.

In a world gone crazy, Islam has gone craziest.

Tags: Taylor, Rahman, Liberia, Afghanistan, Religious freedom