Thank you all for your comments.
I am not going to reply to each poster individually, because I find that snowballs over time and gets too time consuming ...
There seem to be contradictory messages here:
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This is not applied in any muslim country!
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yes^ this only applies in muslim countries
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Also:
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There is no support for the death penalty for Apostasy in the Quran
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I can tell you that not anyone call kill an apostate- it can only be done by the relevant authority (like, it can be ordered by a judge or something, not some bloke who lives across the street)
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I understand that this is a much debated issue. I am trying to understand rather than be inflammatory ...
Are people here saying that apostates are not killed today
at all (either according to the court, or because people take justice into their own hands), and that any accounts of such incidents are false?
Or are people saying that such incidents
do happen, but shouldn't because it is unislamic?
I found this on the religious tolerance site: Quote:
Traditional treatment of apostates according to Shari'a law:
Islam teaches that a newborn has an innate ability to know and believe in his creator, and to understand good and evil. Muhammad (pbuh) stated: "Every child is born with the believing nature...it is his parents who make him into a Jew or a Christian." There is to be no force used to convert a non-believer to Islam. The Qur'ãn, quoted previously, prohibits the use of compulsion to force a person or a society to accept Islam.
However, once a person freely "enters into the fold of Islam, the rules change." 1 The word "Islam" means "submission to the will of God." The Qur'ãn says that: "No believing man and no believing woman has a choice in their own affairs when Allãh and His Messenger have decided on an issue." (33:36) On the issue of apostasy, "Islam clearly says: No! You cannot become an apostate." 1 Apostasy is viewed as a form of treason.
In many predominately Muslim countries, the punishment for apostasy is death.
Assuming that the individual:
*Was a Muslim
*Openly rejects Islam,
*Has made this decision freely and without coercion,
*Is aware of the nature of his/her statements, and
*Is an adult. then the penalty prescribed by Shari'a (Islamic) law is execution for men and life imprisonment for women. Drunkards and mentally ill persons are excluded from this punishment because they are considered to be not responsible for their statements.
A person born of a Muslim parent who later rejects Islam is called a "Murtad Fitri" (Apostate - natural). This is viewed a treason against God. They are given a second chance. If they repent of their decision, they will be released. A person who converted to Islam and later rejected the religion is a "Murtad Milli" (apostate - from the community.) This is viewed as treason against the community. Male apostates are executed even if they repent. Female apostates are released from imprisonment if they repent.
Additional factors:
*If either spouse apostatize from Islam, a divorce is automatic.
*If both apostatize they are generally allowed to stay married.
*An under-aged male is imprisoned, and only executed if he remains an apostate when he becomes of age.
*The will of a male apostate is not valid.
*A female apostate's will remains valid.
*In the rare instances when an apostate is executed, it is traditionally done by severing his neck with a sword.
*Among Malikites, Shafi'ites, and Hanbalites, adult women receive the same penalty as men: execution.
*The Shi'ite schools of law allow for Islamic law towards apostates to be applied in non-Muslim countries. The majority "Sunnites do not believe in extraterritorial jurisdiction." 1
Justification for the death penalty is mainly based on two Hadith texts:
"Whoever changes his religion shall be killed." (Abu Dawud)
"It is not lawful to kill a man who is a Muslim except for one of the three reasons: Kufr (disbelief) after accepting Islam....." (Abu Dawud).
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http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_apos3.htm
The Council of ex-Muslims of Britain says this:
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Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered 'apostates' - punishable by death in countries under Islamic law.
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Why would ex-Muslims be so fearful of declaring publically that they have left Islam ... when there is no compulsion in religion?
Again, I am stressing that I do not intend to be inflammatory!
I just wonder how many people here are really sure about what Islam says about apostasy - judging by the conflicting responses this thread is getting.
God's peace to you all
