Apostasy in Islam
Encyclopedia
Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined in Islam
as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion (apostasy
) by a person who was previously a follower of Islam. The Qur'an
itself does not prescribe any earthly punishment for apostasy; Islamic scholarship differs on its punishment, ranging from execution – on an interpretation of certain hadiths – to no punishment at all as long as they "do not work against the Muslim
society or nation." According to Islamic law
apostasy is identified by a list of actions such as conversion to another religion, denying the existence of God, rejecting the prophets
, mocking God or the prophets, idol worship, rejecting the sharia
, or permitting behavior that is forbidden by the sharia, such as adultery.
jurist Sarakhsi
also called for different punishments between the non-seditious religious apostasy and that of seditious and political nature, or high treason
.
Medieval Islamic scholars also differed on the punishment of a female apostate: death, enslavement, or imprisonment until repentance. Abu Hanifa and his followers refused the death penalty for female apostates, supporting imprisonment until they re-embrace Islam. Hanafi scholars maintain that a female apostate should not be killed because it was forbidden to kill women by the Islamic prophet Muhammad
, and because women are unlikely to take up arms and endanger the community.
According to Wael Hallaq
apostasy laws are not derived from the Qur'an. In modern times, some Islamic scholars oppose any penalty for apostasy, including Gamal Al-Banna
, Taha Jabir Alalwani
, and Shabir Ally
. Quran Alone Muslims do not support the apostasy penalty, citing verses from Qur'an which advocate free will.
Others believe that the death penalty can only be applied when apostasy is coupled with attempts to "harm" the Muslim community, rejecting the death penalty in other cases. These include, Ahmad Shafaat, Jamal Badawi
, Yusuf Estes
, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, and Maliki
jurist Abu al-Walid al-Baji
.
However, Zakir Naik
stated that if a former Muslim speaks against Islam then that is considered as treason and punishable by death in a country ruled by Islamic law, he also stated that he does not know of any country which is ruled by 100% Islamic law., a view which is held by other contemporary Islamic scholars such as Bilal Philips
, and Yusuf al-Qaradawi
, the latter reduces the punishment to imprisonment till repentance in the case of an apostate who did not proclaim apostasy, whereas the judgement which is still widely adopted advocates death for every ex-Muslim, for instance, Sheik Muhammad Al-Munajid
the owner, writer and administrator for the popular islam-qa.com site advocates that judgement stating that leaving them alive "may encourage others to forsake the truth".
Contemporary reform Muslims such as Quran Alone intellectuals Ahmed Subhy Mansour
, Edip Yuksel
, and Mohammed Shahrour have suffered from accusations of apostasy and demands to execute them, issued by Islamic clerics such as Mahmoud Ashur, Mustafa Al-Shak'a, Mohammed Ra'fat Othman and Yusif Al-Badri.
Prominent recent examples of writers and activists killed because of apostasy claims include Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, Faraj Foda, Rashad Khalifa
, Ghorban Tourani
, Necati Aydin, Uğur Yüksel, and the Egyptian Nobel prize winner Najib Mahfouz was injured in an attempted assassination, disabling him until his death in 2006.
The case of Abdul Rahman
, an Afghan who converted from Islam to Christianity, sparked debate on the issue. While he initially faced the death penalty, he was eventually released as he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.
states that God (in Arabic, Allah
) despises apostasy, with severe punishment to be imposed in the hereafter, but not mentioning explicitly any earthly penalty for apostates. Except 16:106-109, the verses that discuss apostasy all appear in sura
hs identified as Madinan
, that is, they belong to the period when the Islamic state had been established.
The Qur'an contains verses from which it can be inferred that apostasy is not a capital offence.
s that sanction the death penalty for apostasy include passages in the Sahih al-Bukhari
include , , , and .
The two most popular Hadiths usually cited by orthodox Islamic clerics to support the death penalty for apostates are:
and the other being that they are discretionary punishments
. He states that discretionary punishments are to be subjected to certain conditions such as the situation of the individual or if the punishment would be of any benefit to the society. With regard to the view that it is part of the Hudud he states, "Even if we place them in the category of prescribed punishments (Hudud
), based on the views of Mirzaye Qomi, the administration of such punishments is particularly limited to the time of the presence and ruling of the Holy Imams
, and they will still not be applicable, and again we will have no choice but the discretionary punishments".
He believes that the penalty can only carried out with a proper trial stating that," it is illegal and impermissible to kill them (apostates who have not been put on trial), and the killers deserve retaliation
since otherwise it will lead to anarchy which will damage the Muslim society."
Ayatollah Saanei, also differentiates between apostates who leave because of propaganda and the misguided actions of some Muslims whom he believes are not deserving of punishment, and those who engage in acts of desecration against Islam who he believes are deserving of punishment.
, (b) has acquired knowledge of those rulings of the shariah necessarily known by all Muslims, (c) is of sound mind at the time, (d) has reached or surpassed puberty, and (e) has consciously and deliberately rejected or consciously and deliberately intends to reject as untrue either the shahada (and what it is commonly known to entail) or those rulings of the shariah necessarily known by all Muslims. Maliki
scholars additionally require that the person in question (f) have publicly engaged in the obligatory practices of the religion.
For example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing and professing that God exists and is one, were to then declare that God does not exist, then this would constitute apostasy. Another example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing that salat
(prayer) is fard
al-ayn (personally obligatory), were to then declare that it was not personally obligatory, then this would constitute apostasy. By contrast, for example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing that consumption of alcohol is haram
(forbidden), were to consume alcohol knowing and professing that it was forbidden, then this would merely constitute disobedience and not apostasy. Another example, if a sane adult Muslim carelessly and thoughtlessly makes a statement of unbelief, then this would not constitute apostasy.
In traditional Islam, there is a distinction between private and public apostasy. Private apostasy is the satisfaction of the above conditions, but without any public declaration. For example, if a sane adult Muslim performed daily prayers, professed them to be obligatory, but personally believed them to not be obligatory, then this would constitute private apostasy. Or for example, if a person professed the shahada with knowledge of its meaning, but in their home secretly worshiped idols, then this would constitute private apostasy. Public apostasy is the satisfaction of the above conditions by means of public declaration.
by the Abbasid
Caliph
al-Ma'mun
in 218 AH/833 CE, traditional scholars have strongly discouraged the practice of directly questioning a person's current beliefs, thereby avoiding false and unjust accusations of apostasy derived from direct questioning. In the Shafi'i school, it is an act of apostasy for a sane adult Muslim to accuse or describe another as an unbeliever (unless it established beyond any doubt).
Of public apostasy, traditional scholars can also differ in their opinions as to when the required conditions of (a) understanding of the shahada, (b) 'necessary knowledge' of the sharia, and (c) 'sound mind' are satisfied in order for a valid ruling of apostasy to be made. For example: if a person were to profess the shahada but was not taught its meaning and so continued to worship idols, and if on being correctly informed of the meaning of the shahada did not accept it as true, then he or she may be judged to have never been a Muslim in the first place, and therefore not an apostate. Another example: if a person believed pork to be halal
(permissible), the judgement of apostasy (as opposed to mere ignorance) would be dependent upon whether he or she were deemed to be adequately taught the essentials of the shariah. Another example: under Mamluk
rule in Egypt, scholars ruled that anyone declaring themselves to be a new Prophet - thereby denying by implication that Muhammad was last prophet - was deemed to be insane and exempt from any judgement whatsoever. This opinion later came to be favoured by the Hanafi
Ottoman
scholars. Before the Mamluks, the declaration of Prophethood was automatically deemed to be proof of apostasy. Hanifi and Shafi'i
also disagree on whether ridiculing (Islamic) scholars is an act of apostasy.
Today, a minority of 'Modernist' or 'Revisionists' Muslims ascribe additional requirements to disbelief to constitute apostasy, such as joining the enemies who are at war with Muslims, or as in Qur'an (Qur'an ) "those who wage war against God and His Apostle", however, what constitutes "war against Allah and His Apostle" for those Islamic Scholars varies widely, ranging from simply declaring disbelief in Islam to explaining reasons and arguments for that disbelief.
Yusuf al Qaradawi believes that punishment for apostasy is an established Islamic Tradition and that all the jurists are unanimous on this. He writes,
Al-Qaradawi states that if an apostate proclaims and openly calls for apostasy in speech or writing, then the punishment is the death penalty, otherwise, imprisonment till repenting.
About people who are self-declared as Muslims but are suspected by the traditional Islamic scholars of committing what amounts to apostasy, for instance, by writing what could be interpreted as a result of disbelief in Islam or traditional interpretation of it, according to Al-Qaradawi who calls this "intellectual apostasy" and refers to it as a "hypocrisy (which) is more dangerous than open disbelief", it is not the role of the Muslim Community, rather it is the role of scholars to respond to these types of ideas:
In medieval Islamic law (sharia
), the consensus view was that a male apostate must be put to death unless he suffers from a mental disorder or converted under duress, for example, due to an imminent danger of being killed. A female apostate must be either executed, according to Shafi'i
, Maliki
, and Hanbali
schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh
), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni Hanafi
school and by Shi'a scholars. A minority of medieval Islamic jurists, notably the Hanafi jurist Sarakhsi
(d. 1090), Maliki
jurist Ibn al-Walid al-Baji (d. 494 AH) and Hanbali
jurist Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328), held that apostasy carries no legal punishment.
Contemporary Islamic Shafi`i jurists such as the Grand Mufti
Ali Gomaa
, Shi'a
jurists such as Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
, and some jurists, scholars and writers of other Islamic sects
, have argued or issued fatwa
s that either the changing of religion is not punishable or is only punishable under restricted circumstances, but these minority opinions have not found broad acceptance among the majority of Islamic scholars
.
, the late Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University
argued that a worldly punishment for apostasy was not mentioned in the Qur'an and whenever it mentions apostasy it speaks about a punishment in the hereafter
and Iran
maintain religious courts for all aspects of jurisprudence, and religious police assert social compliance. Sharia is also used in Sudan
, Libya
, Afghanistan
, and Somalia
. Some states in northern Nigeria
have reintroduced Sharia courts. In practice the new Sharia courts in Nigeria have most often meant the reintroduction of relatively harsh punishments without respecting the much tougher rules of evidence and testimony of regular courts. The punishments include amputation of one/both hand(s) for theft, stoning
for adultery
, and execution for apostasy. In 1980, Pakistan
, under the leadership of President Zia-ul-Haq, the Federal Shariat Court was created and given jurisdiction to examine any existing law to ensure it was not repugnant to Islam and in its early acts it passed ordinances that included five that explicitly targeted religious minorities: a law against blasphemy; a law punishing the defiling of the Qur'an; a prohibition against insulting the wives, family, or companions of the Prophet of Islam; and two laws specifically restricting the activities of Ahmadis, who were declared non-Muslims.
Under traditional Islamic law an apostate may be given up to three days while in incarceration to repent and accept Islam again and if not the apostate is to be killed without any reservations.
argue that Islamic law that calls for death for apostasy is in conflict with a variety of fundamentals of Islam. They contend that the early development of the law of apostasy was essentially a religio-political tool, and that there was a large diversity of opinion among early Muslims on the punishment.
Medieval Muslim scholars (e.g. Sufyan al-Thawri) and modern (e.g. Hasan at-Turabi), also have argued that the hadith used to justify execution of apostates (see below) should be taken to apply only to political betrayal of the Muslim community, rather than to apostasy in general. These scholars argue for the freedom to convert to and from Islam without legal penalty.
Other prominent Islamic scholars like the Grand Mufti of Cairo Sheikh Ali Gomaa
have stated that while God will punish apostates in the afterlife they should not be executed by human beings. Ali Gomaa later clarified that leaving Islam without punishment was not what he meant; "What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished."
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, an Islamic scholar, writes that punishment for apostasy was part of Divine punishment for only those who denied the truth even after clarification in its ultimate form by Muhammad (see Itmaam-i-hujjat
), hence, he considers it a time-bound command and no longer punishable.
.
W. Heffening states that in Qur'an "the apostate is threatened with punishment in the next world only," adding that Shafi'is interpret verse as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in the Qur'an. Wael Hallaq
holds that "nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text." The late dissenting Shia jurist Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
, a significant Shi'a religious authority, stated that the Quranic verses do not prescribe an earthly penalty for apostasy.
Popular Islamist author Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi argued that verses of the Qur'an sanction death for apostasy. However, scholars such as S. A. Rahman
reject Mawdudi's interpretation, concluding "that not only is there no punishment for apostasy provided in the Book but that the Word of God clearly envisages the natural death of the apostate. He will be punished only in the Hereafter…" He continues and says that there is no reference to the death penalty in any of the 20 instances of apostasy mentioned in the Qur'an.
In his book on Punishment of Apostasy in Islam, Rahman declares the verse which contains the explicit language, "Let there be no compulsion in religion...", to be "one of the most important verses of the Qur'an, containing a charter of freedom of conscience unparalleled in the religious annals of mankind…". He goes on to criticize the attempts by Muslim scholars over the ages to narrow its broad humanistic meaning and impose limits on its scope in their attempts to reconcile it with their interpretations of Muhammad's Sunna.
states the death penalty was a new element added later and "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet."
The Hadith record cases for which Muhammad allowed apostates to live:
Another hadith reports that Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh
converted to Christianity and Muhammad also left him unharmed.
Ayatollah Montazeri
holds that it is probable that the punishment was prescribed by Muhammad during early Islam to combat political conspiracies against Islam and Muslims, and is not intended for those who simply change their belief or express a change in belief. Montazeri defines different types of apostasy. He argues that capital punishment should be reserved for those who desert Islam out of malice and enmity towards the Muslim community, and not those who convert to another religion after investigation and research.
government in 1260AH/1844AD."
Other examples include , , and .
However, Ibn Warraq
identifies earlier scholars of Islam who found support in the Qur'an for the death penalty for apostasy. He quotes al-Shafi'i (died 820 C.E.), the founder of one of the four orthodox schools of law of Sunni Islam that verse meant that the death penalty should be prescribed for apostates, and Al-Thalabi and Al-Khazan concurred, and states that Al-Razi
in his commentary on 2:217 says an apostate should be killed. Ibn Warraq also quotes commentaries by Baydawi (died c. 1315-1316) on as "Whosoever turns back from his belief (irtada), openly or secretly, take him and kill him wheresoever ye find him, like any other infidel".
Verse reads:
argues that while the organizational form of the Christian university
allowed them to develop and flourish into the modern university, "the Muslim ones remained constricted by the doctrine of waqf
alone, with their physical plant often deteriorating hopelessly and their curricula narrowed by the exclusion of the non-traditional religious sciences like philosophy and natural science," out of fear that these could evolve into potential toe-holds for kufr
, those people who reject God."
An example is the stabbing of a Bangladeshi Christian evangelist (a "murtad fitri" or Muslim-born apostate) while returning home from a film version of the Gospel of Luke
. Bangladesh does not have a law against apostasy, but some Imams encourage the killing of converts from Islam. Ex-Muslims in Great Britain have faced abuse, violence, and even murder at the hands of Muslims. There are similar reports of violent intimidation of those electing to reject Islam in other Western countries.
Other examples of persecution of apostates converting to Christianity have been given by the Christian organisation Barnabas Fund
:
Similar views are expressed by the 'non-religious' International Humanist and Ethical Union.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center
found relatively widespread popular support for death penalty as a punishment for apostasy in Egypt (84% of respondents in favor of death penalty), Jordan (86% in favor), Indonesia (30% in favor), Pakistan (76% favor) and Nigeria (51% in favor).
was charged with apostasy and could have faced the death penalty for converting to Christianity. His case attracted much international attention with Western countries condemning Afghanistan for persecuting a convert. Charges against Abdul Rahman were dismissed on technical grounds by the Afghan court after intervention by the president Hamid Karzai
. He was released and left the country to find refuge in Italy.
Two other Afghan converts to Christianity were arrested in March 2006 and their fate is unknown. In February 2006, yet other converts had their homes raided by police.
.
According to US think tank Freedom House
, since the 1990s the Islamic Republic of Iran has sometimes used death squads against converts, including major Protestant leaders. Under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the regime has engaged in a systematic campaign to track down and reconvert or kill those who have changed their religion from Islam.
15 Ex-Muslim Christians were incarcerated on May 15, 2008 under charges of apostasy. They may face the death penalty if convicted. A new penal code is being proposed in Iran that would require the death penalty in cases of Apostasy on the Internet.
At least two Iranians - Hashem Aghajari
and Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari - have been arrested and charged with apostasy in the Islamic Republic (though not executed), not for self-professed conversion to another faith, but for statements and/or activities deemed by courts of the Islamic Republic to be in violation of Islam, and that appear to outsiders to be Islamic reformist political expression. Hashem Aghajari
, was found guilty of apostasy for a speech urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics; Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari was charged with apostasy for attending the 'Iran After the Elections' Conference
in Berlin Germany which was disrupted by anti-regime demonstrators.
Youcef Nadarkhani
is an Iranian Christian pastor who has been sentenced to death for apostasy.
Bahá'ís
in Iran, the nation of origin of the Bahá'í Faith and Iran's largest religious minority, were accused of apostasy in the 19th century by the Shi'a clergy because of their claim to a valid religious revelation subsequent to that of Muhammad. These allegations led to mob attacks, public executions and torture of early Bahais, including the Bab
.
"An Apostate will be suppressed three days in prison in order that he may repent ..... otherwise, he should be killed, because he has changed his true religion, therefore, there is no use from his living, regardless of being a man or a woman, as Mohammed said: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him", narrated by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim
."
was founded in Germany, an association led by Iranian exile Mina Ahadi and Turkish-German immigrant Arzu Toker. The association stands up for former Muslims who chose to abandon Islam. Shortly after going public on February 28, 2007, the group received death threats by radical islamists.
On 18 April 2007, two Turkish converts to Christianity, Necati Aydin and Uğur Yüksel, were killed in the Malatya bible publishing firm murders. Having tortured them for several hours, the attackers then slit their throats. The attackers stated that they did it in order to defend the state and their religion. The government and other officials in Turkey had in the past criticized Christian missionary work, while the European Union has called for more freedom for the Christian minority.
case, shows the huge problems in that country for those wishing to leave Islam and be recognised as a member of another religion — where Hegazy has suffered death threats from family and prominent Islamic figures alike. A Judge ruled "He (Hegazy) can believe whatever he wants in his heart, but on paper he can't convert."
He is the first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government.
In February 2009, a second case came to court, of convert to Christianity Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, whose effort to officially convert to Christianity, faced opposing lawyers who advocated he be convicted of "apostasy," or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death.
In 1992 Islamist militants gunned down Egyptian secularist Farag Foda
. Before his death he had been declared an apostate and foe of Islam. During the trial of the murderers, Azhari scholar Muhammad al-Ghazali testified that when the state fails to punish apostates, somebody else has to do it.
In April 2006, after a court case in Egypt recognized the Bahá'í Faith
, members of the clergy convinced the government to appeal the court decision. One member of parliament, Gamal Akl of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, said the Bahá'ís were infidels who should be killed on the grounds that they had changed their religion, thus ignoring the historical nature of the conversion and the fact that most living Bahá'í have not, in fact, ever been Muslim.
, Turkey, Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, and Kenya. In November 2005, Iranian convert Ghorban Tourani
was stabbed to death by a group of fanatical Muslims. In December 2005, Nigerian pastor Zacheous Habu Bu Ngwenche was attacked for allegedly hiding a convert. In January 2006, in Turkey, Kamil Kiroglu was beaten unconscious and threatened with death if he refused to deny his Christian faith and return to Islam. In a highly public case, the Malaysian Federal Court did not let Lina Joy
convert to Christianity in a 2-1 decision.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is the British branch of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims
, who represent former Muslim
s who fear for their lives because they have renounced Islam. It was launched in Westminster
on 22 June 2007. The Council protests against Islamic states that still punish Muslim apostates with death under the Sharia law. The Council is led by Maryam Namazie
, who was awarded Secularist of the Year
in 2005 and has faced death threats. The British Humanist Association
and National Secular Society
sponsored the launch of the organisation and have supported its activities since.
, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief."
Islamic scholar Dr. Fathi Osman
has stated that in modern times, leaving the religion of Islam is within the rights of an individual. Dr. Osman is a representative of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion (apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
) by a person who was previously a follower of Islam. The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
itself does not prescribe any earthly punishment for apostasy; Islamic scholarship differs on its punishment, ranging from execution – on an interpretation of certain hadiths – to no punishment at all as long as they "do not work against the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
society or nation." According to Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
apostasy is identified by a list of actions such as conversion to another religion, denying the existence of God, rejecting the prophets
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
, mocking God or the prophets, idol worship, rejecting the sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, or permitting behavior that is forbidden by the sharia, such as adultery.
Variety of viewpoints
In medieval times, several Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence held that apostasy by a male Muslim is punishable by death, differing on whether to execute the apostate immediately or grant the apostate an initial opportunity to repent and thus avoid penalty. They also differentiated between harmful and harmless apostasy (also known as major and minor apostasy) in accepting repentance. However, other scholars also held different views, such as that of Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (d. 715) and Sufyan al-Thawri and their followers, who rejected the death penalty and prescribed indefinite imprisonment until repentance. The hanafiHanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
jurist Sarakhsi
Sarakhsi
Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abi Sahl Abu Bakr al-Sarakhsi was an important jurist, or Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school. He was traditionally known as Shams al-A'imma .-Background Information:...
also called for different punishments between the non-seditious religious apostasy and that of seditious and political nature, or high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
.
Medieval Islamic scholars also differed on the punishment of a female apostate: death, enslavement, or imprisonment until repentance. Abu Hanifa and his followers refused the death penalty for female apostates, supporting imprisonment until they re-embrace Islam. Hanafi scholars maintain that a female apostate should not be killed because it was forbidden to kill women by the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, and because women are unlikely to take up arms and endanger the community.
According to Wael Hallaq
Wael Hallaq
Wael B. Hallaq is currently the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is currently acting as the Director of Graduate Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. After a Ph.D...
apostasy laws are not derived from the Qur'an. In modern times, some Islamic scholars oppose any penalty for apostasy, including Gamal Al-Banna
Gamal al-Banna
Gamal al-Banna is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, author, and trade unionist. He is the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna , the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood...
, Taha Jabir Alalwani
Taha Jabir Alalwani
place this image male.svg|right]] Taha Jabir Al-Alwani , Ph.D. , is the President of Cordoba University. He also holds the Imam Al-Shafi'i Chair in the Islamic Legal Theory at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences at Corboda University...
, and Shabir Ally
Shabir Ally
Immam Shabir Ally is the president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto, Canada. He is a Muslim activist, preacher and speaker on Islam and Muslims. He is also a debater engaging in regular debates in different parts of the world....
. Quran Alone Muslims do not support the apostasy penalty, citing verses from Qur'an which advocate free will.
Others believe that the death penalty can only be applied when apostasy is coupled with attempts to "harm" the Muslim community, rejecting the death penalty in other cases. These include, Ahmad Shafaat, Jamal Badawi
Jamal Badawi
Jamal A. Badawi is an Egyptian born Muslim Canadian former professor in the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a well-known author, preacher and speaker on Islam....
, Yusuf Estes
Yusuf Estes
Yusuf Estes is an American Muslim preacher and teacher who converted to Islam in 1991. He was the National Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons through the 1990s. He became the Muslim Delegate to the United Nations World Peace Conference for Religious Leaders held at the U.N....
, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, and Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
jurist Abu al-Walid al-Baji
Abu al-Walid al-Baji
Abu al-Walid al-Baji was a famous Maliki scholar and poet from Al-Andalus....
.
However, Zakir Naik
Zakir Naik
Zakir Abdul Karim Naik is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation , a non-profit organization that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist...
stated that if a former Muslim speaks against Islam then that is considered as treason and punishable by death in a country ruled by Islamic law, he also stated that he does not know of any country which is ruled by 100% Islamic law., a view which is held by other contemporary Islamic scholars such as Bilal Philips
Bilal Philips
Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is a contemporary Islamic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar...
, and Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Egyptian Islamic theologian. He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat , broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide...
, the latter reduces the punishment to imprisonment till repentance in the case of an apostate who did not proclaim apostasy, whereas the judgement which is still widely adopted advocates death for every ex-Muslim, for instance, Sheik Muhammad Al-Munajid
Muhammad Al-Munajid
Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajid is an Islamic lecturer who was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1960. He was raised in and currently lives in Saudi Arabia.- Education :...
the owner, writer and administrator for the popular islam-qa.com site advocates that judgement stating that leaving them alive "may encourage others to forsake the truth".
Contemporary reform Muslims such as Quran Alone intellectuals Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour , born March 1, 1949, in Abu Harair, Kafr Saqr, Sharqia, Egypt is an Egyptian-born noted Islamic scholar and cleric, with expertise in Islamic history, culture, theology, and politics...
, Edip Yuksel
Edip Yuksel
Edip Yuksel is an American intellectual considered one of the prime figures in the modern Islamic reform and Qur'an alone movements...
, and Mohammed Shahrour have suffered from accusations of apostasy and demands to execute them, issued by Islamic clerics such as Mahmoud Ashur, Mustafa Al-Shak'a, Mohammed Ra'fat Othman and Yusif Al-Badri.
Prominent recent examples of writers and activists killed because of apostasy claims include Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, Faraj Foda, Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
, Ghorban Tourani
Ghorban Tourani
Ghorban Dordi Tourani , also called Ghorban Tori, was an Iranian convert to Christianity and a lay-minister. He lived and worked in Gonbad-e Qabus, Golestan, Iran....
, Necati Aydin, Uğur Yüksel, and the Egyptian Nobel prize winner Najib Mahfouz was injured in an attempted assassination, disabling him until his death in 2006.
The case of Abdul Rahman
Abdul Rahman (convert)
Abdul Rahman was an Afghan citizen who was arrested in February 2006 and threatened with the death penalty for converting to Christianity. On March 26, 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps". He was released...
, an Afghan who converted from Islam to Christianity, sparked debate on the issue. While he initially faced the death penalty, he was eventually released as he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.
Qur'an
The Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
states that God (in Arabic, Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
) despises apostasy, with severe punishment to be imposed in the hereafter, but not mentioning explicitly any earthly penalty for apostates. Except 16:106-109, the verses that discuss apostasy all appear in sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
hs identified as Madinan
Madinan sura
The Medinan suras or Medinan chapters of the Qur'an are those later suras which, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina, after Muhammad's hijra from Mecca. These suras appeared when the Muslims were in larger numbers, rather than being an oppressed minority as in Mecca.They are...
, that is, they belong to the period when the Islamic state had been established.
The Qur'an contains verses from which it can be inferred that apostasy is not a capital offence.
Sunni hadith
Examples of Sunni HadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s that sanction the death penalty for apostasy include passages in the Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
include , , , and .
The two most popular Hadiths usually cited by orthodox Islamic clerics to support the death penalty for apostates are:
- "Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
- "Whoever changed his (Islamic) religion, then kill him"
Shia hadith
Some Shia Hadiths also sanction the death penalty for apostasy. For example, one of the shia Imams has been asked about a Muslim who has converted to Christianity, he answered "he should be killed not called to repent", and when asked about a Christian converting to Islam then converting back to Christianity, he answered "he should be given the chance to repent, otherwise killed" (Al-Kafi 7:257 | 10), (Men la Yahthuruh Al-Faqeeh (Whom an Islamic Cleric is not attending) 3:91 | 341), and (Tahtheeb Al-Ahkam (Rectification of the Rules) 10:140 | 554).Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei
Prominent Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei states that there are two views on the nature of the punishment of apostasy one being that they are prescribed punishmentsHudud
Hudud is the word often used in Islamic literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes...
and the other being that they are discretionary punishments
Tazir
In Islamic Law, tazir refers to punishment, usually corporal, that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, called a Qadi, Kadi, as opposed to the hudud...
. He states that discretionary punishments are to be subjected to certain conditions such as the situation of the individual or if the punishment would be of any benefit to the society. With regard to the view that it is part of the Hudud he states, "Even if we place them in the category of prescribed punishments (Hudud
Hudud
Hudud is the word often used in Islamic literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes...
), based on the views of Mirzaye Qomi, the administration of such punishments is particularly limited to the time of the presence and ruling of the Holy Imams
Imamah (Shi'a twelver doctrine)
Imāmah means "leadership" and it is a part of the Shi'a theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna Ashariya branch of Shia Islam....
, and they will still not be applicable, and again we will have no choice but the discretionary punishments".
He believes that the penalty can only carried out with a proper trial stating that," it is illegal and impermissible to kill them (apostates who have not been put on trial), and the killers deserve retaliation
Qisas
Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation," and follows the principle of an eye for an eye, or lex talionis, first set forth by Hammurabi, and subsequently included in the Old Testament and later legal codes...
since otherwise it will lead to anarchy which will damage the Muslim society."
Ayatollah Saanei, also differentiates between apostates who leave because of propaganda and the misguided actions of some Muslims whom he believes are not deserving of punishment, and those who engage in acts of desecration against Islam who he believes are deserving of punishment.
What constitutes apostasy in Islam
The orthodox conditions of apostasy are that the person in question (a) has understood and professed the shahadaShahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...
, (b) has acquired knowledge of those rulings of the shariah necessarily known by all Muslims, (c) is of sound mind at the time, (d) has reached or surpassed puberty, and (e) has consciously and deliberately rejected or consciously and deliberately intends to reject as untrue either the shahada (and what it is commonly known to entail) or those rulings of the shariah necessarily known by all Muslims. Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
scholars additionally require that the person in question (f) have publicly engaged in the obligatory practices of the religion.
For example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing and professing that God exists and is one, were to then declare that God does not exist, then this would constitute apostasy. Another example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing that salat
Salat
Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
(prayer) is fard
Fard
also is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. The word is also used in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu in the same meaning....
al-ayn (personally obligatory), were to then declare that it was not personally obligatory, then this would constitute apostasy. By contrast, for example: if a sane adult Muslim, knowing that consumption of alcohol is haram
Haraam
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
(forbidden), were to consume alcohol knowing and professing that it was forbidden, then this would merely constitute disobedience and not apostasy. Another example, if a sane adult Muslim carelessly and thoughtlessly makes a statement of unbelief, then this would not constitute apostasy.
In traditional Islam, there is a distinction between private and public apostasy. Private apostasy is the satisfaction of the above conditions, but without any public declaration. For example, if a sane adult Muslim performed daily prayers, professed them to be obligatory, but personally believed them to not be obligatory, then this would constitute private apostasy. Or for example, if a person professed the shahada with knowledge of its meaning, but in their home secretly worshiped idols, then this would constitute private apostasy. Public apostasy is the satisfaction of the above conditions by means of public declaration.
Differences of Opinion
Of public apostasy, traditional scholars can differ in their opinions as to whether there are different 'grades' of seriousness. Some scholars make distinctions between apostates who declare a loss of belief (i) only after being directly prompted, (ii) without any prompting but do not seek to spread their disbelief, and (iii) seek to spread their disbelief (by preaching). Especially after the MihnaMihna
The Mihna refers to a test instituted by the Abassid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 218 AH/833 AD, in which religious scholars were required to answer whether or not the Qu'ran was a created text. Those who answered in the affirmative were retained; those who answered in the negative were dismissed...
by the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun
Abū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
in 218 AH/833 CE, traditional scholars have strongly discouraged the practice of directly questioning a person's current beliefs, thereby avoiding false and unjust accusations of apostasy derived from direct questioning. In the Shafi'i school, it is an act of apostasy for a sane adult Muslim to accuse or describe another as an unbeliever (unless it established beyond any doubt).
Of public apostasy, traditional scholars can also differ in their opinions as to when the required conditions of (a) understanding of the shahada, (b) 'necessary knowledge' of the sharia, and (c) 'sound mind' are satisfied in order for a valid ruling of apostasy to be made. For example: if a person were to profess the shahada but was not taught its meaning and so continued to worship idols, and if on being correctly informed of the meaning of the shahada did not accept it as true, then he or she may be judged to have never been a Muslim in the first place, and therefore not an apostate. Another example: if a person believed pork to be halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
(permissible), the judgement of apostasy (as opposed to mere ignorance) would be dependent upon whether he or she were deemed to be adequately taught the essentials of the shariah. Another example: under Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
rule in Egypt, scholars ruled that anyone declaring themselves to be a new Prophet - thereby denying by implication that Muhammad was last prophet - was deemed to be insane and exempt from any judgement whatsoever. This opinion later came to be favoured by the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
scholars. Before the Mamluks, the declaration of Prophethood was automatically deemed to be proof of apostasy. Hanifi and Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
also disagree on whether ridiculing (Islamic) scholars is an act of apostasy.
Today, a minority of 'Modernist' or 'Revisionists' Muslims ascribe additional requirements to disbelief to constitute apostasy, such as joining the enemies who are at war with Muslims, or as in Qur'an (Qur'an ) "those who wage war against God and His Apostle", however, what constitutes "war against Allah and His Apostle" for those Islamic Scholars varies widely, ranging from simply declaring disbelief in Islam to explaining reasons and arguments for that disbelief.
Yusuf al Qaradawi
Yusuf al Qaradawi believes that punishment for apostasy is an established Islamic Tradition and that all the jurists are unanimous on this. He writes,
All Muslim jurists agree that the apostate is to be punished. However, they differ regarding the punishment itself. The majority of them go for killing; meaning that an apostate is to be sentenced to death.
Authentic Hadiths have been reported in this regard. Ibn `Abbas reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever changes his religion, you kill him." (Reported by all the group except Muslim, and at-Tabarani also reported it with a sound chain of narrators. Also recorded in Majma` Az-Zawa'id by Al-Haythamiy.)
Al-Qaradawi states that if an apostate proclaims and openly calls for apostasy in speech or writing, then the punishment is the death penalty, otherwise, imprisonment till repenting.
About people who are self-declared as Muslims but are suspected by the traditional Islamic scholars of committing what amounts to apostasy, for instance, by writing what could be interpreted as a result of disbelief in Islam or traditional interpretation of it, according to Al-Qaradawi who calls this "intellectual apostasy" and refers to it as a "hypocrisy (which) is more dangerous than open disbelief", it is not the role of the Muslim Community, rather it is the role of scholars to respond to these types of ideas:
Intellectual apostasy is always propagated night and day. We feel its relentless and ruthless effects on our society. It needs a wide scale attack at the same level of strength and thinking. The positive religious obligation here is for Muslims to launch war against such a hidden enemy, to fight it with same weapon it uses in waging attack against the society. Here comes the role of erudite scholars who are well versed in Islamic Jurisprudence.
Execution
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
), the consensus view was that a male apostate must be put to death unless he suffers from a mental disorder or converted under duress, for example, due to an imminent danger of being killed. A female apostate must be either executed, according to Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
, Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
, and Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school and by Shi'a scholars. A minority of medieval Islamic jurists, notably the Hanafi jurist Sarakhsi
Sarakhsi
Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abi Sahl Abu Bakr al-Sarakhsi was an important jurist, or Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school. He was traditionally known as Shams al-A'imma .-Background Information:...
(d. 1090), Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
jurist Ibn al-Walid al-Baji (d. 494 AH) and Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
jurist Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328), held that apostasy carries no legal punishment.
Contemporary Islamic Shafi`i jurists such as the Grand Mufti
Grand Mufti
The title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwā, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
Ali Gomaa
Ali Gomaa
Sheikh Ali Goma'a is the Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah succeeding Ahmad El-Tayeb. He has been called "one of the most widely respected jurists in the Sunni Muslim world," and described as "a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam," gender equality, and an "object of...
, Shi'a
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
jurists such as Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri Najafabadi was a prominent Iranian scholar, Islamic theologian, Shiite Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution in 1979...
, and some jurists, scholars and writers of other Islamic sects
Divisions of Islam
Muslims are basically divided in two major factions, Sunnis and Shias, that are further divided into various Schools of Jurisprudence and orders of Imamate. All other movements within such as Salafi, Modernists, the Mystical Sufi Orders, Deobandi and Barelvi are either Sunni or Shia or both...
, have argued or issued fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
s that either the changing of religion is not punishable or is only punishable under restricted circumstances, but these minority opinions have not found broad acceptance among the majority of Islamic scholars
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
.
View of Mahmud Shaltut
Mahmud ShaltutMahmud Shaltut
Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltut was a prominent Egyptian Sunni religious scholar and Islamic theologian best known for his work in Islamic reform...
, the late Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
argued that a worldly punishment for apostasy was not mentioned in the Qur'an and whenever it mentions apostasy it speaks about a punishment in the hereafter
Akhirah
Ákhirah is an Islamic term referring to the after life. It is repeatedly referenced in chapters of the Qur'an concerning Yaum al Qiyamah, the Islamic Day of Judgment, an important part of Islamic eschatology. Life is temporary on the earth...
Applying law in the Muslim world
Most countries of the Middle East and North Africa maintain a dual system of secular courts and religious courts, in which the religious courts mainly regulate marriage and inheritance. Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
maintain religious courts for all aspects of jurisprudence, and religious police assert social compliance. Sharia is also used in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. Some states in northern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
have reintroduced Sharia courts. In practice the new Sharia courts in Nigeria have most often meant the reintroduction of relatively harsh punishments without respecting the much tougher rules of evidence and testimony of regular courts. The punishments include amputation of one/both hand(s) for theft, stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, and execution for apostasy. In 1980, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, under the leadership of President Zia-ul-Haq, the Federal Shariat Court was created and given jurisdiction to examine any existing law to ensure it was not repugnant to Islam and in its early acts it passed ordinances that included five that explicitly targeted religious minorities: a law against blasphemy; a law punishing the defiling of the Qur'an; a prohibition against insulting the wives, family, or companions of the Prophet of Islam; and two laws specifically restricting the activities of Ahmadis, who were declared non-Muslims.
Under traditional Islamic law an apostate may be given up to three days while in incarceration to repent and accept Islam again and if not the apostate is to be killed without any reservations.
Opposition to execution
In a book on the issue, Abdullah Saeed and Hassan SaeedHassan Saeed
Dr. Hassan Saeed was attorney-general of the Maldives from 11 November 2003 to 5 August 2007. He ran as an independent candidate for the Presidency of the Maldives, and placed third of six candidates...
argue that Islamic law that calls for death for apostasy is in conflict with a variety of fundamentals of Islam. They contend that the early development of the law of apostasy was essentially a religio-political tool, and that there was a large diversity of opinion among early Muslims on the punishment.
Medieval Muslim scholars (e.g. Sufyan al-Thawri) and modern (e.g. Hasan at-Turabi), also have argued that the hadith used to justify execution of apostates (see below) should be taken to apply only to political betrayal of the Muslim community, rather than to apostasy in general. These scholars argue for the freedom to convert to and from Islam without legal penalty.
Other prominent Islamic scholars like the Grand Mufti of Cairo Sheikh Ali Gomaa
Ali Gomaa
Sheikh Ali Goma'a is the Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah succeeding Ahmad El-Tayeb. He has been called "one of the most widely respected jurists in the Sunni Muslim world," and described as "a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam," gender equality, and an "object of...
have stated that while God will punish apostates in the afterlife they should not be executed by human beings. Ali Gomaa later clarified that leaving Islam without punishment was not what he meant; "What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished."
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, an Islamic scholar, writes that punishment for apostasy was part of Divine punishment for only those who denied the truth even after clarification in its ultimate form by Muhammad (see Itmaam-i-hujjat
Itmaam-i-hujjat
Itmām al-hujjah is an Islamic concept denoting that religious truth has been completely clarified by a Messenger of Allah and made available to a people, who are considered to have no excuse to deny it.-Role of a Messenger:The concept of Itmām al-hujjah requires that religious truth...
), hence, he considers it a time-bound command and no longer punishable.
Qur'an
S. A. Rahman, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, argues that there is no indication of the death penalty for apostasy in the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
.
W. Heffening states that in Qur'an "the apostate is threatened with punishment in the next world only," adding that Shafi'is interpret verse as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in the Qur'an. Wael Hallaq
Wael Hallaq
Wael B. Hallaq is currently the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is currently acting as the Director of Graduate Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. After a Ph.D...
holds that "nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text." The late dissenting Shia jurist Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri Najafabadi was a prominent Iranian scholar, Islamic theologian, Shiite Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution in 1979...
, a significant Shi'a religious authority, stated that the Quranic verses do not prescribe an earthly penalty for apostasy.
Popular Islamist author Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi argued that verses of the Qur'an sanction death for apostasy. However, scholars such as S. A. Rahman
S. A. Rahman
Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rehman was a Chief Justice of Pakistan. He did his MA from University of Punjab, BA Hons from Oxford and Ph.D. in Law from Cairo....
reject Mawdudi's interpretation, concluding "that not only is there no punishment for apostasy provided in the Book but that the Word of God clearly envisages the natural death of the apostate. He will be punished only in the Hereafter…" He continues and says that there is no reference to the death penalty in any of the 20 instances of apostasy mentioned in the Qur'an.
In his book on Punishment of Apostasy in Islam, Rahman declares the verse which contains the explicit language, "Let there be no compulsion in religion...", to be "one of the most important verses of the Qur'an, containing a charter of freedom of conscience unparalleled in the religious annals of mankind…". He goes on to criticize the attempts by Muslim scholars over the ages to narrow its broad humanistic meaning and impose limits on its scope in their attempts to reconcile it with their interpretations of Muhammad's Sunna.
Hadith
Writing in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Heffening holds that contrary to the Qur'an, "in traditions [i.e. hadith], there is little echo of these punishments in the next world... and instead, we have in many traditions a new element, the death penalty." Wael HallaqWael Hallaq
Wael B. Hallaq is currently the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is currently acting as the Director of Graduate Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. After a Ph.D...
states the death penalty was a new element added later and "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet."
The Hadith record cases for which Muhammad allowed apostates to live:
Another hadith reports that Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh
Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh
Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh was the brother of Zaynab bint Jahsh, Hammanah bint Jahsh and Abd-Allah ibn Jahsh. He is one of the four monotheistic hanifs mentioned by Ibn Ishaq. The others being Waraqah ibn Nawfal, Uthman ibn Huwarith and Zayd ibn Amr....
converted to Christianity and Muhammad also left him unharmed.
Ayatollah Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri Najafabadi was a prominent Iranian scholar, Islamic theologian, Shiite Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution in 1979...
holds that it is probable that the punishment was prescribed by Muhammad during early Islam to combat political conspiracies against Islam and Muslims, and is not intended for those who simply change their belief or express a change in belief. Montazeri defines different types of apostasy. He argues that capital punishment should be reserved for those who desert Islam out of malice and enmity towards the Muslim community, and not those who convert to another religion after investigation and research.
Historic
According to Muslim Islamic scholar Cyril Glassé, death for apostasy was "not in practice enforced" in later times in the Muslim world, and was "completely abolished" by "a decree of the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
government in 1260AH/1844AD."
Hadith
In the Hadith the death penalty is mentioned in several passages. For example,Other examples include , , and .
Others
Essentially the same arguments are sketched by the Shi'i Islamic author Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi in the brief article Apostasy (Irtidad) in Islam, relying upon the opinions of some of the earlier scholars of Islam.However, Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq is the pen name of a polemical author of Pakistani origin who is critical of Islam, and who founded the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society . He is a senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry focusing on Qur'anic criticism...
identifies earlier scholars of Islam who found support in the Qur'an for the death penalty for apostasy. He quotes al-Shafi'i (died 820 C.E.), the founder of one of the four orthodox schools of law of Sunni Islam that verse meant that the death penalty should be prescribed for apostates, and Al-Thalabi and Al-Khazan concurred, and states that Al-Razi
Al-Razi
Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī , known as Rhazes or Rasis after medieval Latinists, was a Persian polymath,a prominent figure in Islamic Golden Age, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher, and scholar....
in his commentary on 2:217 says an apostate should be killed. Ibn Warraq also quotes commentaries by Baydawi (died c. 1315-1316) on as "Whosoever turns back from his belief (irtada), openly or secretly, take him and kill him wheresoever ye find him, like any other infidel".
Verse reads:
Why should ye be divided into two parties about the Hypocrites? Allah hath upset them for their (evil) deeds. Would ye guide those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way? For those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way, never shalt thou find the Way.
Effects on Islamic learning
The English historian C. E. BosworthClifford Edmund Bosworth
Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA is an English historian and orientalist, specializing in Arabic studies. He received his B.A. degree from Oxford University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Edinburgh University. He held permanent posts at St. Andrews University, Manchester University, and the Center...
argues that while the organizational form of the Christian university
Medieval university
Medieval university is an institution of higher learning which was established during High Middle Ages period and is a corporation.The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of...
allowed them to develop and flourish into the modern university, "the Muslim ones remained constricted by the doctrine of waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
alone, with their physical plant often deteriorating hopelessly and their curricula narrowed by the exclusion of the non-traditional religious sciences like philosophy and natural science," out of fear that these could evolve into potential toe-holds for kufr
KUFR
KUFR is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the station serves the Salt Lake City area. The station is currently owned by Family Stations, Inc....
, those people who reject God."
Background
The violence or threats of violence against apostates in the Muslim world usually derives not from government authorities but from individuals or groups operating with impunity from the government.An example is the stabbing of a Bangladeshi Christian evangelist (a "murtad fitri" or Muslim-born apostate) while returning home from a film version of the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
. Bangladesh does not have a law against apostasy, but some Imams encourage the killing of converts from Islam. Ex-Muslims in Great Britain have faced abuse, violence, and even murder at the hands of Muslims. There are similar reports of violent intimidation of those electing to reject Islam in other Western countries.
Other examples of persecution of apostates converting to Christianity have been given by the Christian organisation Barnabas Fund
Barnabas Fund
The Barnabas Fund is an international, interdenominational Christian aid agency that supports Christians who face discrimination or persecution as a consequence of their faith...
:
Similar views are expressed by the 'non-religious' International Humanist and Ethical Union.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...
found relatively widespread popular support for death penalty as a punishment for apostasy in Egypt (84% of respondents in favor of death penalty), Jordan (86% in favor), Indonesia (30% in favor), Pakistan (76% favor) and Nigeria (51% in favor).
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
In March 2006, an Afghan citizen Abdul RahmanAbdul Rahman (convert)
Abdul Rahman was an Afghan citizen who was arrested in February 2006 and threatened with the death penalty for converting to Christianity. On March 26, 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps". He was released...
was charged with apostasy and could have faced the death penalty for converting to Christianity. His case attracted much international attention with Western countries condemning Afghanistan for persecuting a convert. Charges against Abdul Rahman were dismissed on technical grounds by the Afghan court after intervention by the president Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. He was released and left the country to find refuge in Italy.
Two other Afghan converts to Christianity were arrested in March 2006 and their fate is unknown. In February 2006, yet other converts had their homes raided by police.
Islamic Republic of Iran
Salman Rushdie is a prominent contemporary figure accused of apostasy. In 1989 a fatwa was issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the ruler of Iran at the time, calling for the death of Salman Rushdie for the blasphemy of authoring the book The Satanic VersesThe Satanic Verses controversy
The Satanic Verses controversy was the heated and sometimes violent Muslim reaction to the publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy or unbelief and in 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie...
.
According to US think tank Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
, since the 1990s the Islamic Republic of Iran has sometimes used death squads against converts, including major Protestant leaders. Under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the regime has engaged in a systematic campaign to track down and reconvert or kill those who have changed their religion from Islam.
15 Ex-Muslim Christians were incarcerated on May 15, 2008 under charges of apostasy. They may face the death penalty if convicted. A new penal code is being proposed in Iran that would require the death penalty in cases of Apostasy on the Internet.
At least two Iranians - Hashem Aghajari
Hashem Aghajari
Hashem Aghajari also Seyyed Hashem Aghajari is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the Islamic Republic's government who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostasy for a speech he gave on Islam urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics...
and Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari - have been arrested and charged with apostasy in the Islamic Republic (though not executed), not for self-professed conversion to another faith, but for statements and/or activities deemed by courts of the Islamic Republic to be in violation of Islam, and that appear to outsiders to be Islamic reformist political expression. Hashem Aghajari
Hashem Aghajari
Hashem Aghajari also Seyyed Hashem Aghajari is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the Islamic Republic's government who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostasy for a speech he gave on Islam urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics...
, was found guilty of apostasy for a speech urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics; Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari was charged with apostasy for attending the 'Iran After the Elections' Conference
'Iran After the Elections' Conference
The "Iran After the Elections" Conference was a three-day social and cultural conference on reform in Iran organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and held in Berlin on April 7 and 8, 2000...
in Berlin Germany which was disrupted by anti-regime demonstrators.
Youcef Nadarkhani
Youcef Nadarkhani
Youcef Nadarkhani is an Iranian Christian pastor who has been sentenced to die in Tehran...
is an Iranian Christian pastor who has been sentenced to death for apostasy.
Bahá'ís
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
in Iran, the nation of origin of the Bahá'í Faith and Iran's largest religious minority, were accused of apostasy in the 19th century by the Shi'a clergy because of their claim to a valid religious revelation subsequent to that of Muhammad. These allegations led to mob attacks, public executions and torture of early Bahais, including the Bab
Bab
Bab can refer to:* Bab, Set, Seth, ancient Egyptian god* Bāb, a Semitic word meaning gateway* Báb , founder of Bábism and a central figure in the Bahá'í Faith...
.
Saudi Arabia
According to the "Online Saudi-arabian Curriculum مناهج السعودية الألكترونية", taught at schools, we read under the title "Judgements on Apostates أحكام المرتدين" the following (in Arabic):"An Apostate will be suppressed three days in prison in order that he may repent ..... otherwise, he should be killed, because he has changed his true religion, therefore, there is no use from his living, regardless of being a man or a woman, as Mohammed said: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him", narrated by Al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
and Muslim
Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim is one of the Six major collections of the hadith in Sunni Islam, oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is the second most authentic hadith collection after Sahih Al-Bukhari, and is highly acclaimed by Sunni Muslims...
."
Algeria
On March 21, 2006, the Algerian parliament approved a new law requiring imprisonment for two to five years and a fine between five and ten thousand euros for anyone "trying to call on a Muslim to embrace another religion." The same penalty applies to anyone who "stores or circulates publications or audio-visual or other means aiming at destabilizing attachment to Islam."Turkey
More recently, on 21 January 2007, the Central Council of Ex-MuslimsCentral Council of Ex-Muslims
The Central Council of Ex-Muslims is a German association of non-religious, secular persons who were Muslim or originate from an Islamic country. It was founded on January 21, 2007 and has more than 100 members....
was founded in Germany, an association led by Iranian exile Mina Ahadi and Turkish-German immigrant Arzu Toker. The association stands up for former Muslims who chose to abandon Islam. Shortly after going public on February 28, 2007, the group received death threats by radical islamists.
On 18 April 2007, two Turkish converts to Christianity, Necati Aydin and Uğur Yüksel, were killed in the Malatya bible publishing firm murders. Having tortured them for several hours, the attackers then slit their throats. The attackers stated that they did it in order to defend the state and their religion. The government and other officials in Turkey had in the past criticized Christian missionary work, while the European Union has called for more freedom for the Christian minority.
Egypt
The Mohammed HegazyMohammed Hegazy
Mohammed Hegazy is the first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government.-Biography:Hegazy grew up in Port Said on the Suez Canal in Egypt...
case, shows the huge problems in that country for those wishing to leave Islam and be recognised as a member of another religion — where Hegazy has suffered death threats from family and prominent Islamic figures alike. A Judge ruled "He (Hegazy) can believe whatever he wants in his heart, but on paper he can't convert."
He is the first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government.
In February 2009, a second case came to court, of convert to Christianity Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, whose effort to officially convert to Christianity, faced opposing lawyers who advocated he be convicted of "apostasy," or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death.
In 1992 Islamist militants gunned down Egyptian secularist Farag Foda
Farag Foda
Farag Foda , also Faraj Fawda, was an important Egyptian thinker, human rights activist, writer, and columnist.Based in Cairo, he was noted for his critical articles and sharp satires about Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt. In many newspaper articles, he demonstrated weak points in Islamic ideology...
. Before his death he had been declared an apostate and foe of Islam. During the trial of the murderers, Azhari scholar Muhammad al-Ghazali testified that when the state fails to punish apostates, somebody else has to do it.
In April 2006, after a court case in Egypt recognized the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, members of the clergy convinced the government to appeal the court decision. One member of parliament, Gamal Akl of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, said the Bahá'ís were infidels who should be killed on the grounds that they had changed their religion, thus ignoring the historical nature of the conversion and the fact that most living Bahá'í have not, in fact, ever been Muslim.
Other countries
Vigilantes have killed, beaten, and threatened converts in Pakistan, the Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, Turkey, Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, and Kenya. In November 2005, Iranian convert Ghorban Tourani
Ghorban Tourani
Ghorban Dordi Tourani , also called Ghorban Tori, was an Iranian convert to Christianity and a lay-minister. He lived and worked in Gonbad-e Qabus, Golestan, Iran....
was stabbed to death by a group of fanatical Muslims. In December 2005, Nigerian pastor Zacheous Habu Bu Ngwenche was attacked for allegedly hiding a convert. In January 2006, in Turkey, Kamil Kiroglu was beaten unconscious and threatened with death if he refused to deny his Christian faith and return to Islam. In a highly public case, the Malaysian Federal Court did not let Lina Joy
Lina Joy
Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani in 1964 in Malaysia to Muslim parents of Javanese descent, she converted at age 26. In 1998, she was baptized, and applied to have her conversion legally recognized by the Malaysian courts...
convert to Christianity in a 2-1 decision.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is the British branch of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims
Central Council of Ex-Muslims
The Central Council of Ex-Muslims is a German association of non-religious, secular persons who were Muslim or originate from an Islamic country. It was founded on January 21, 2007 and has more than 100 members....
, who represent former Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s who fear for their lives because they have renounced Islam. It was launched in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
on 22 June 2007. The Council protests against Islamic states that still punish Muslim apostates with death under the Sharia law. The Council is led by Maryam Namazie
Maryam Namazie
Maryam Namazie is a human rights activist, commentator and broadcaster. Namazie has served as the executive director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees. She is spokesperson for the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain. The campaign is opposed to faith based laws...
, who was awarded Secularist of the Year
Secularist of the Year
The Secularist of the Year award is presented annually to the individual considered to have made the greatest contribution to secularism in the previous year by the UK's National Secular Society. The prize is a cheque for £5000; it was first awarded in 2005, and is sponsored by Dr...
in 2005 and has faced death threats. The British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
and National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
sponsored the launch of the organisation and have supported its activities since.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Laws prohibiting religious conversion run contrary to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human RightsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief."
Islamic scholar Dr. Fathi Osman
Fathi Osman
Mohamed Fathi Osman was an Egyptian author and scholar who advocated on behalf of cooperation between Islam and other religions and whose writings include an overview of the Koran for the general public....
has stated that in modern times, leaving the religion of Islam is within the rights of an individual. Dr. Osman is a representative of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.
See also
- Apostasy in ChristianityApostasy in ChristianityApostasy in Christianity refers to the rejection of Christianity by someone who formerly was a Christian. The term apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia meaning defection, departure, revolt or rebellion. It has been described as "a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christian...
- Apostasy in Judaism
- Apostasy in Malaysia
- Islam and blasphemyIslam and blasphemyBlasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy. Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia. Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for...
- List of former Muslims
- TakfirTakfirIn Islamic law, takfir or takfeer refers to the practice of one Muslim declaring another Muslim an unbeliever or kafir...
External links
- Apostasy, Freedom and Da’wah: Full Disclosure in a Business-Like Manner by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq}
- Heffening W.: Art. Murtadd, in: Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed., Leiden - New York: E. J. Brill 1993, pp. 635–636
- No place to call home: Experiences of Apostates from Islam - Failures of the International Community CSW Report, 2008