What's going on?

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The Taliban no longer runs Afghanistan. So, how is it that a journalist was sentenced to prison for two years on a conviction for blasphemy?
Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, editor of Women's Rights, published articles against lashing women for adultery and stoning to death those who convert from Islam.
To conservative Shiites, these are radical thoughts. Mr. Nasab's defenders said the articles led to misunderstandings, yet at their core were not anti-Islamic.
Lunacy will stand its ground. The prosecutor called for the death penalty. Even "moderates" refrained from genuinely broaching the fundamental point -- that irreverence should not be a crime.