Apostasy in Islam
A Muslim who decides to leave Islam is often in fear of their life. The
Islamic schools of law, supported by the Qur'an and hadiths, speak of the
punishment that should be meted out. All the main schools of Islamic law
prescribe the death penalty for men who leave Islam.
For people in Muslim nations who convert to Christianity, this is a real
issue. Barnabas Fund, an organisation that works with
persecuted Christians, often in Muslim majority nations, organised a petition
called 'Right to Justice' in 2003, to call
on world leaders and Muslim leaders to "take a strong lead and act
vigorously to insist that all governments ensure religious liberty and safeguard
the rights of Christian and other religious minorities. The government must
demonstrate that the persecution of Christians and the restriction of their
religious liberty is unacceptable wherever it takes place." They were also
concerned about the death penalty for apostasy.
They collected more than
100,000 signatures and the petition has been presented
to world leaders.
In May 2008, Patrick Sookhdeo warned
against circulating inflated figures of Muslim conversions to Christianity.
(more details below)
Australia
This is not just an issue overseas. In Australia, people
who leave Islam can also be under threat.
The Australian part of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international
group that wants to see the Islamic caliphate established, has released a Draft
Constitution. The General Rules, Article 7 c says
"The State implements the divine law on all citizens who hold citizenship
of the Islamic State, whether Muslims or not, in the following manner:
c.
Those who are guilty of apostasy (murtad) from Islam are to be executed
according to the rule of apostasy, provided they have themselves renounced
Islam. If they are born as non-Muslims, i.e., if they are the sons of
apostates, then they are treated as non-Muslims according to their status as
being either polytheists (mushriks) or People of the Book."
People should have freedom of religion - including the right to change their
religion, as detailed in the UN's Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Apostasy in Islam
The
following detailed article (14 pages) on apostasy in Islam has been written by
Rev Dr Patrick Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund - he is a former Muslim and now part of
the Church of England in the UK.
Islamic
Teaching on the Consequences of Apostasy from Islam
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo - 3rd July 2007 - FEATURED
ARTICLE
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. [UDHR]
Introduction
The right to
religious freedom, including the right of individuals to change their religion,
is taken for granted by most people in the West. However, in Islam all schools
of law (madhhahib) agree that adult male apostates from Islam should be killed.
The majority of Muslim jurists claim that apostasy from Islam is a crime
carrying the God-prescribed penalty of death. Therefore, while conversion
from other religions to Islam is welcomed and actively encouraged, Muslims who
leave Islam for any other religion must be sentenced to death (unless they
repent and return to Islam).
According to criminal law in the Islamic legal
system (Shari‘ah), the state must impose mandatory punishments
(hudud, singular hadd) for certain specific crimes which are
claimed to be committed against God and his rights, and apostasy (rida,
irtidad) is often
included in this list. These crimes make up a separate category in
Shari‘ah criminal law as they are the only
ones to have divinely mandated obligatory prescribed punishments which cannot be
changed in any way by humans. Apostasy is thus viewed as a very severe crime for
which God himself has prescribed the death penalty.
The death penalty for
converts from Islam has nevertheless generated much debate since references to
apostasy in the Qur’an, the primary source of Islamic law, are rather
ambiguous. The hadith (the authoritative traditions recording the
sayings and deeds of Muhammad) are therefore the main source used to justify the
Shari‘ah punishment of death for apostates.
...."
Danger of circulating
inflated conversion statistics
Exaggerated
Convert Figures Could Cost Lives:
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo,
Barnabas Fund... GENERAL NEWS - 14th May 2008 "Converts from Islam to
Christianity are increasingly concerned about a number of reports in recent
months which have cited astounding statistics on conversion. It is true – and a
matter for thankfulness to God – that more Muslims are now coming to Christ than
at any other time in history. However, they are not converting on the vast scale
alleged in some reports. These false reports, often initiated by non-Christians
and then circulated by Christians, are a matter of grave concern, not just for
those who love truth and accuracy, but also for the many individuals whose lives
are being endangered by the publicity given to the exaggerated figures. . .
" Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 9 June 2008 |
