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Barnabas Aid magazine, www.barnabasfund.org , Pull-out Supplement, January-February 2009

Pull-out supplement

The Islamic Law of Apostacy

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. But in Islam people are only free to change from a non-Islamic faith to Islam; they are not free to change in the opposite direction. All schools of shari'a (Islamic law) agree that adult male Muslims who leave their faith should be killed, in line with this view, the majority of Muslim scholars past and present hold that apostasy from Islam is a crime carrying the God-prescribed penalty of death.
Likewise, for most ordinary Muslims today, across the spectrum of beliefs and ideologies, apostasy carries shocking and dreadful associations as a most abhorrent sin. In 2007 a study found that 36% of British Muslims aged between 16 and 24 believed that those who convert from Islam to another religion should be punished by death. ¹ Even for modernist and secularist Muslims apostasy carries negative ideas of treason against one's community. Apostates are viewed as traitors, bringing great shame on their families and communities. This attitude explains why so few Muslim voices are ever raised in defence of those accused of apostasy.

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The legal basis in Islam for the apostasy law
   Shari'a is based on the Qur’an [= Quran, Koran] and on Muhammad's example, as recorded in traditions called hadith. In the early centuries of Islam, these sources were developed by consensus (ijma') and analogy (qiyas) into rules and regulations that were set down in the manuals of the various shari'a schools of law.
   According to criminal law in shari'a, the state must impose mandatory punishments (hudud, sing. hadd) for certain specific crimes that are supposedly committed against God and his rights. These hudud crimes make up a separate category in shari'a criminal law, because they are the only ones to carry divinely-ordained punishments, which cannot be altered by humans. Apostasy (irtidad) is included in the list of hudud crimes by three of the Islamic schools of law; apostasy is thus viewed as a very severe crime for which God himself has prescribed the death penalty. The other schools of law, though giving judges greater flexibility in cases of apostasy, still decree the death penalty for apostates.
Qur’an
   Given the unanimous rulings of shari'a about the death penalty for adult male apostates, it is rather surprising to discover that the Qur'an itself, the primary source from which shari'a is derived, has no clear statement about the punishment of apostates in this life.
   Apostasy is mentioned in 13 verses of the Qur'an, but the emphasis of these verses is on God's punishment of apostates in the next life. Here are some examples:

   But if any turn away and reject God, God will punish him with a mighty Punishment. (Q 88:23-24)
   Anyone who after accepting faith in Allah utters unbelief except under Compulsion his heart remaining firm in faith but such as open their Breast to unbelief on them is Wrath from Allah and theirs will be a Dreadful Penalty. (Q 16:106)
   ... and if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be Companions of the Fire and will abide therein. (Q 2:217)
Hadith
   Because the Qur'an is so ambiguous, the hadith are therefore the main sources used to justify the shari'a punishment of death for apostates. For example:

   Narrated 'Ikrima: Some Zanadiqa [Muslim heretics] were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his [Islamic] religion, then kill him.'"(Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57)
   There are also hadith that promise a special reward in paradise for someone who kills an apostate.
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¹ Ruth Gledhill, "British imam's daughter under police protection after converting to Christianity", The Times, 5 December 2007.

ii TABLE "The death sentence for apostates from Islam, according to the five main schools of shari‘a."
[To obtain these details, contact Barnabas Aid, or obtain the publication from Reformed Church circles.]
Other punishments for apostasy
   The shari'a also lays down other types of punishment for an apostate. These include confiscation of his/her property, separation from spouse and children, loss of inheritance and denial of burial in a Muslim graveyard.
   In practice the death penalty is rarely implemented by Muslim states today, but apostates are commonly deprived of all their civil rights. This practice is termed "civil death" in Egypt.
A broader definition
   In Islamic law and tradition, apostasy (irtidad) has always been linked to the concepts of unbelief, blasphemy and heresy (all combined under the term kufr), which are sometimes used interchangeably. In a sense kufr is the main category, while apostasy, blasphemy and heresy are its sub-categories. Although apostasy, blasphemy and heresy are distinct terms in English, in Arabic kafir is often used to describe an apostate, a blasphemer or a heretic, and all three categories are closely linked, even interchangeable, in the minds of Muslims.
   Although the term "apostate" (murtadd) usually refers to a Muslim who has officially converted to another faith, individuals who consider themselves to be good Muslims also may be accused of unbelief, blasphemy and heresy as well as of apostasy, for reasons such as scepticism, atheism, or not obeying shari'a properly. Some authorities list 300 different acts that could make a person a kafir, thus giving Muslims plenty of possible reasons for denouncing other Muslims as infidels liable to the death penalty. This process is known as takfir. ²
   In many cases multiple charges of apostasy, blasphemy, unbelief, heresy and insulting Islam and Muhammad are brought against the accused, thus giving the judges greater flexibility in deciding under which category to define the crime and ensuring that the accused actually is convicted of something. A feature of accusations of apostasy and blasphemy is the way they are often uncritically accepted as true by members of the police and of the criminal justice system, who require little or no evidence.
Shari'a in modern Muslim states
   Although most modern Muslim states have ratified international agreements on human rights, they limit their validity by adding that the agreements are subject to the authority of shari'a. Human rights and equality of all before the law are thus interpreted by shari'a, which discriminates on the basis of both religion and gender.
   Many Muslim states had secular constitutions at independence but have engaged in a gradual process of Islamisation since then. Most have declared Islam to be their state religion, and many have declared shari'a to be the primary source of their law. Many Muslim states have two parallel legal systems operating: the Western secular system and the Islamic shari'a system.
   Although most states with a mixed system and a written constitution guarantee freedom of religion and equality of treatment to all citizens, in practice a Muslim who rejects his or her faith is often treated as if guilty of treason and liable to the death penalty even if there is no official punishment for apostasy laid down in the constitution or legal system.
Muslim states and apostasy
   In some countries the state legal system has adopted shari'a laws that enable official charges to be made within the state courts against converts from Islam.^nbsp; (These blasphemy and apostasy laws also enable the state arbitrarily to detain citizens who for any reason are viewed with disfavour by the authorities or by militant Muslims.)
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² John L. Esposito, ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, pp 439-443.

iii    Though official proceedings against those who reject Islam are rare, apostasy is punishable by death in Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. It is also treated as illegal in the Comoros, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia and the Maldives.
   Where legal provisions for punishing apostasy do not at present exist, the state or local authorities may harass converts by arresting them on various pretexts, such as public order offences, or by framing them for other "crimes". These practices also help to avoid any unwelcome attention from Western media.
   Where state legal systems are not interested in such prosecutions, or where they dare not prosecute for fear of condemnation by the West, groups or individuals within the society may act instead to carry out the shari'a penalties. Islamic scholars and mullahs may issue fatwas demanding the killing of the accused, and families may use force and violence against the convert, which sometimes end in murder as they try to remove the shame that they feel the conversion brings on the whole family. In some contexts, mobs can be easily incited to frenzied attacks against an alleged apostate. Individual Muslims zealous for their religion and its honour may take it on themselves to assassinate the accused, believing that they are doing a holy service to God and to Islam.
The application of the apostasy law in the world today
   The examples below focus on countries where there are laws against apostasy, but it is important to remember that everywhere - even in the West - unofficial persecution of converts by family and community is likely to occur. Furthermore, those who perpetrate the unofficial persecution often go unpunished in Muslim countries, and sometimes even in the West.
Saudi Arabia
   The Qur'an is the state constitution and shari'a the legal system. Judges have freedom to decide what constitutes apostasy. In a 1992 case brought against a Shi'a Muslim, who had converted from Sunni Islam, it was reported that the judge told the accused: "Abandon your rejectionist beliefs or I will kill you".
   A young Saudi woman called Fatima al-Mutairi learned about Jesus Christ on the internet and decided to follow Him. But in 2008 her family discovered her faith, and her brother cut out her tongue and then burned her to death. It is apparently being considered an "honour crime", and her brother may therefore receive a relatively lenient sentence. (Turn to page 12 to read a poem written by Fatima.)
Afghanistan
   The 2004 Afghan constitution states that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred law of Islam" (Article 3). On this basis an Afghan judge and prosecutor declared in 2006 that the death sentence for apostasy was part of Afghan law and threatened Abdul Rahman. a 41-year-old convert to Christianity, with death. In the end, under pressure from Western governments, the Afghan authorities found a pretext to dismiss the case.
Egypt
   Although there is no direct law against apostasy, Egyptian Christians who have converted from Islam are often arrested and imprisoned, typically on charges of endangering social peace. While in detention they may be beaten or tortured.
   Between 1970 and 1982 the courts decreed that apostates had neither the right to marry nor the right to inherit and that their existing marriages were invalid as they were civically dead according to Hanafi shari'a law. In 2002 Al-Azhar University recommended a change in the application of the apostasy law by giving the accused a lifetime to renounce the apostasy instead of the three-day period laid down in shari'a. This recommendation was severely criticised by many religious leaders.
   A serious problem for Egyptian converts is the fact that they are never given permission to change the religion entered on their ID card from Muslim to Christian. This makes it very difficult for them to live as Christians and their children also will be registered as Muslims. On 29 January 2008 Mohammed Hegazy lost his court case against the Egyptian Interior Minister on this issue. The judge ruled that, according to shari'a, it was lawful to convert only to Islam, not to any other religion.
Jordan
   The Jordanian authorities can be harsh in their treatment of converts from Islam. On 24 March 2008 Mohammad Abbad, a Christian who had converted from Islam 15 years earlier, was charged with apostasy before the North Amman Shari'a Court. Earlier that month he and his wife had sheltered in their home two converts who were receiving death threats from relatives. But the relatives tracked them down and attacked both couples. When Mohammad went to the police to report the assault, he found that his own father had already reported him to the police, seeking custody of Mohammad's two children. Lawyers advised Mohammad that he would lose the case if he did not renounce his Christian faith. Mohammad and his family fled the country on 28 March. His father then started procedures to have his son's marriage dissolved.
Sudan
   President Nimeiri introduced shari'a law to North Sudan in 1983 and tried also to impose it on the South. Two years later, an Islamic scholar, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, was executed for apostasy because of his efforts to liberalise and reform Islam. In 1989 the National Islamic Front came to power, and in the 1991 constitution the Islamic Code was again enforced. The use of shari'a as the basis of law and government in North Sudan has since become ever more explicit. Section 126 of the Sudan Criminal Law 1991 makes apostasy from Islam a criminal offence punishable by death. Although this extreme penalty is seldom implemented, apostates face arrest, imprisonment and torture.
Iran
   Since the 1979 Iranian revolution Shi'a Islam has been the state religion. Article 4 of the constitution states: "All civil, penal [? ,] financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria."

iv    Although the state [Iran] recognises Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism as official religions and gives their followers limited freedoms to worship within their communities, the Baha'is face severe persecution as unprotected infidels. Various laws place restrictions on religious freedoms. In cases where there are no specific codified laws to cover a particular case, judges have the right to deliver fatwas based on Islamic sources. By use of this right, a number of converts from Islam have been sentenced to death for apostasy, and one of them, Hossein Soodmand, was hanged in 1990. Another convert, Mehdi Dibaj, was sentenced to death in December 1993, released the following month, and then mysteriously murdered in July 1994.
   In recent years many converts active in Christian ministry have been arrested and charged not with apostasy but with, for example, "activities against Islam". Others have been murdered by security forces. For example, Ghorban Tori was kidnapped by security forces in November 2005 and stabbed to death. In July 2008, a couple in their 60s, Abbas Amiri and Sakineh Rahnama Amiri, were beaten so badly by security officers that both later died of their injuries.
   On 2 September 2008, the Iranian Parliament gave provisional approval to a bill that mandates the death penalty for any male Muslim who converts from Islam to another religion, and lifelong imprisonment for female apostates. If passed into law, this would introduce the death penalty for apostasy into Iranian law, so that judges no longer have to look to Islamic sources to justify death sentences.
Malaysia
   The constitution declares Islam to be the official state religion while guaranteeing religious freedom. Two states, Kelantan and Terengganu, have passed laws to provide the death penalty for apostasy, but these cannot be enacted because of federal opposition.
   A 1993 law states that it is illegal for a Muslim to change his or her religion. A convert named Lina Joy took her request for her conversion to Christianity to be formally recognised right to the top of the secular court system, but on 30 May 2007 the Federal Court ruled that the decision must be made by a shari'a court, which was equivalent to a refusal.
   Malays are given political and economic advantages as the indigenous people of the country. But the legal definition of a Malay includes that the person must be a Muslim, so Malays who convert from Islam lose their ethnic identity and its associated privileges.
Maldives
   A new constitution for the Maldives was ratified on 7 August 2008. It states that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives" and "no law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted". As a result, around 3,000 Maldivians - and any future converts from Islam - lose their citizenship and all the rights that accompany it, such as freedom of speech, freedom of movement and habeas corpus.
Amending the apostasy law?
   There have been Muslim calls for a reform of the harsh apostasy law and for Islamic leaders to proclaim that it is permissible for Muslims to choose other faiths, just as non-Muslims are allowed (indeed, encouraged) to choose Islam.
   Some modernist Islamic scholars argue from the Qur'an and from the historical context of the hadith that an apostate should not be put to death unless s/he is also a danger to the Islamic state. They argue that the death sentence given to apostates in early Islam was for their rebellion against the Islamic state, not for their change of faith. However, the definition of "danger to the Islamic state" is important. Sheikh Tantawi, the Grand Imam of the influential Egyptian University Al-Azhar, says that an apostate "should be left alone as long as he does not pose a threat or belittle Islam". It is hard to imagine how those who have left Islam could say anything about their conversion without in some sense being critical of Islam. Muslims would then, by Tantawi's logic, be "forced to take action". It is worth noting that he does not specify what that "action" should be, leaving open the possibility of killing the apostate.

   The Islamic law of apostasy, framed in medieval times, has a huge impact today. Indeed, its impact is increasing. This change is partly because of the rise of Islamism (Islamic fundamentalism) and the increased application of shari'a in new regions and states, not only in the Muslim world but also now in the West. It is also because more Muslims are becoming Christians than ever before in history, so that there are more apostates to be dealt with.
   The apostasy law exerts its influence not only through direct application of the law but also indirectly by shaping Muslim minds, creating immense hostility towards those who leave Islam.
   Muslims are well aware that the rest of the world finds their apostasy law outrageous, and much has been written to try to defend it. The only hope for real freedom of religion within Islam lies in the abolition of the harsh death penalty for apostasy, indeed any penalty, and allowing total freedom to leave Islam for those who want to do so.
   © Barnabas Fund, 2008

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The Islamic Law of Apostacy

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