Islam and the apostasy debate
ICC Note
Some Muslim countries/scholars hold the view that converts from Islam to other religions should be killed while others dont share the same view.
By Roger Hardy
February 18, 2008 Islam (BBC News)-Leaving Islam can be fraught with difficulty.
Despite the well-known Quranic injunction “There is no compulsion in religion”, issues of religious freedom have persisted into the 21st Century.
Suppose a Christian woman converts to Islam, for example when she marries a Muslim man, but later wants to convert back.
Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch relates what happened in one case.
“We had one woman telling us how, when she converted to Islam, it was ‘Just hold on, when you’ve finished your coffee your documents will be ready’.
“But in trying to convert back to Christianity, she’s had to go to court – she’s been completely frustrated in those efforts.”
Identity crisis
Christians seeking to re-convert encountered bureaucratic hassle in getting their ID cards changed.
Another issue arose from the fact that the state officially recognises only three religions – Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
In the other, a group of Christians seeking to re-convert were told the state should acknowledge their change of status on their identity documents.
Root of the problem
Apostasy – the abandonment of one’s faith – is not just a problem in Egypt .
Some scholars favour the death penalty; others say the punishment should be left to God on the day of judgement
So what is the root of the problem? Why do some Muslim scholars favour such a severe penalty?
So some scholars favour the death penalty; others say the punishment should be left to God on the day of judgement.
