In traditional Islamic law, for a Muslim to convert to another faith brings a death sentence. This is not "extremist" Islam. It is the Islamic mainstream, based on a statement of Muhammad: "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57).
From the Washington Times, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
Christians from across the country traveled to Falls Church this weekend to attend the first Muslim Background Believers Convention, a cross-cultural conference aimed at improving understanding and relations between born-again Christians from Muslim backgrounds and born-again Christians from Protestant or Catholic backgrounds. They speak only under fictitious names assumed for the occasion.
Why? I am certain that they are not being threatened by Protestants and Catholics. From whom might the need to speak only under fictitious names be coming? Hmmm.
Sponsored in part by the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the convention kept the registration and entrance process under tight security to protect the participants, many of whom say they face death threats or ostracism from their families for leaving the Islamic faith...."We need to bridge that gap and love one another," says Mr. Noble, who, like other Christian converts at the conference, was concerned about anonymity because, he says, the Koran dictates that those who leave Islam be considered apostates and can be killed.
"For a Muslim to convert to Christianity is a very risky undertaking," Mr. Noble says. "If he does not go back to Islam, he could face death."
Although it is rare for converts to be killed in America because of their faith, many face ostracism from their families or denial of entrance to their former countries, he says.
"I was called by my embassy and told I'd better repent or I could not go back home with my family," says the conference organizer, a former member of the government in his native country.
To avoid punishment, many converts don't tell their families that they have left Islam. However, the Christian faith teaches its followers to obey the command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," as set out in the Gospel of St. Mark (16:15). Not being able to share their new faith can be distressing, says "Dania Smith," who converted from Islam in April.
"I think I'm going to have to tell them eventually because I want them to be Christians, too," she says.
Until then, however, she fears discovery and ostracism from her family, who live near her Virginia home.
"I know they're going to disown me if they don't kill me," she says.
"Leana Copeland," another convert, has been a Christian since March. Her Muslim family, who migrated from Jordan, does not know of her conversion. Already ostracized by her brothers because of her marriage to an American, she keeps contact only with her mother and sister.
"My brothers haven't spoken to me in the last couple years, and that was only because I married an American," she says. "Can you imagine what they would do if they found out I was a Christian?"
Despite the danger, she says she still takes her two children to church and prays that the rest of her family will become Christians in time.
Mrs. Copeland and Miss Smith say the Muslim Background Believers Convention offers a chance for fellowship with other Christians in similar circumstances.
"It's good to meet other people, who think like you and understand what you're going through," Miss Smith says.
This is not a solely Christian issue. Freedom of conscience should be a concern of everyone who professes concern for human rights. The human rights organizations should be the first to defend these people. But they have yet even to notice that they exist.
As always, buy the book LEAVING ISLAM: APOSTATES SPEAK OUT edited by Ibn Warraq. Websites by ex-Muslims:
http://www.secularislam.org/
http://www.faithfreedom.org/
http://www.middleastwomen.org/
http://www.apostatesofislam.com/
http://www.mukto-mona.com/
http://www.homa.org/
http://www.ladeeni.net/english.htm
http://taslimanasrin.com/
http://www.muslimsandislamic.faithweb.com/
http://www.geocities.com/freethoughtmecca/
http://exmuslim.com/
http://www.islamreview.org/
http://www.shoebat.com/
http://www.noniedarwish.com/
http://www.murtadd.org/
http://www.webspawner.com/users/hfali1/
http://www.knowislam.info/
http://www.geocities.com/ibn_rushd2
http://www.ampbreia.com/
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2203
From Palestinian school curriculum:
The Punishment for Abandoning Islam
(Page 155): "The logical reason for executing a person who abandons Islam is the following: There is nothing in Islam that comes in contrast to human nature. Whoever joins Islam after recognizing its truth and after tasting its sweetness and then abandons it - is in fact rebelling against truth and logic. Like any other regime, Islam has to protect itself therefore this punishment [execution] awaits the person who abandons it, because he is spreading doubt about Islam…
"Abandoning Islam is a crime that warrants a severe punishment… [The phases of punishment are]:
"Urging [the sinner] to recant immediately…
"Warning him of the implications of his persistence in abandoning Islam, namely warning him that he will be executed.
"Execute the sinner if he persists in [his decision to] abandon Islam…"
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP72104
"When the late Sheikh Suleiman Al-Madani was asked during a lecture in Bahrain about involving all national factions [including Shiites and possibly non-Muslims] in [government] decision-making, he answered: 'I don't know what 'national factions' are. As far as I am concerned, only a Muslim can be a citizen. Anyone born to Muslim parents who has stopped believing in Islam is sentenced to death according to religious law, and according to the consensus of the clerics. If he declares that he has repented, we give him a chance to complete the prayers and fasting that he missed [during his apostasy], and then we kill him, in accordance with the divine punishment set out in the Koran. This is the religious law accepted by the clerics and jurisprudents. Therefore, how can I say that he is permitted to take part in decision-making, when I do not permit him to take part in life?'
http://www.islamicity.com/qa/action.lasso.asp?-db=services&-lay=Ask&-op=eq&number=3018&-format=detailpop.shtml&-find','500','473'
Topic :
Leaving Islam (Reddah)
Question:
I want a full lI want to know everything there is about the crime of Al-Riddah (leaving Islam). This material is not just for me but for a professor I know who is interested in the case of Salamn Rushdi (he is simpathetic to our case).
Answer:
Dear Br. E. As-salaamu alaykum. Due to the nature of this section (Ask the Imam) and its popularity, we can not go into great details in the answers. If you need to have detailed information about how Islamic Law deals with a person who renounces his religion, please consult a book in Islamic Jurisprudence. In short, a person who is considered an apostate from an Islamic Legal point of view, is the person who used to be a Muslim and later on, clearly states that he disbelieves in God (and Islam)or affirms this or acts in a way that is a clear statement that he disbelieves in God. A person who renounces his religion (apostate or Murtad), is given a three-day period to repent. If he doesnÕt, then the Muslim ruler issues the ruling to kill him. In the case of a married couple where one of them renounces the religion, the court doesnÕt separate them until three menstrual cycles pass for the wife. Afterwards, if the person (the husband or the wife) repents, then the couple can stay together, otherwise, they are separated. Islamic Law goes into great details regarding this subject. For example, according to the Hanafi and Maliki schools of thought, if a person becomes an apostate, then all of his deeds are nullified. The Shafii school on the other hand states that the deeds are nullified only if the person dies as an apostate. Here is an example: if a person performs pilgrimage and later on becomes an apostate then he repents back to Islam, then for the Hanafi and the Maliki schools, that person should perform pilgrimage again. For the Shafii school, if that person repents, then he doesnÕt have to perform it again. Of course there are many more details regarding this subject. If you need more information, please consult your local Imam or refer to a book in Islamic Jurisprudence.
http://islamonline.net/fatwaapplication/english/display.asp?hFatwaID=102152
Coming to your question on the basis of the punishment of apostasy, we would like to start with the following words of the prominent Moroccan scholar Sheikh Abdul Bari Az-Zamzamy:
"It should be noted that Islam never compels any person to accept it or embrace its teachings. It gives the freedom of thinking to people, with full respect to their mentalities and way of thinking. However, Islam is not a man-made religion that is subject to scrutiny or biased criticism that is based on mere suspicion, since it was originated by Allah, the Supreme Creator of all minds and mentalities. In addition, apostasy causes a total disruption and confusion in the Muslim community, and thus, a severe punishment was set for it to deter anyone from thinking of it. It was originally put into force following the Jewish conspiracy against Islam. The details of that conspiracy were simply mass conversion to Islam and then mass apostasy. The main ill aim was to cause confusion and to lead people astray. Thus, the punishment was set as a precautionary measure to stop all these offenses."
Speaking of the authority of the punishment and its being genuine and based on the authentic sources of Islam, Sheikh `Attiyah Saqr, former Head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, states:
"It is not right to deny the punishment of apostasy claiming that it has not been reported in the Qur'an, because it has been recorded in the mutawatir (Hadith which has been reported by at least four of the Companions in different times and places in a way that make a person sure that such Hadith is not fabricated) and the non-mutawatir Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him). Hudud (Islamic punishment specified for certain crimes) may, of course, be based on the non-mutawatir Sunnah."
Detailing the issue and showing some of the evidence for the punishment of apostasy, the prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:
"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.
Many 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.)
There is also the Hadith of Ibn Mas`ud that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The blood of a Muslim individual who bears witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, is not to be shed except in three cases: in retaliation (in murder crimes), married adulterers (and adulteresses), and the one who abandons his religion and forsakes the Muslim community." (Reported by the Group)
The actual example of one of the greatest Companions, `Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) gives credit to this also. He himself carried out the punishment on some people who had deified him. He gave them three days respite to repent and go back to their senses. When they proved adamant, he put them to fire.”
http://thetruereligion.org/apostatepunish.htm
The person who knows the truth and believes in it, then turns his back on it, does not deserve to live. The punishment for apostasy is prescribed for the protection of the religion and as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of leaving Islaam.
http://www.muslim-canada.org/conductpt3ch6.html
As an apostate has nothing to choose but the re-embracing of Islam or the sword, he cannot be enslaved and so let alive.
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=227
Concerning conversion from Islam to another religion, Islamic law usually forbids this, calling it ridda, or apostasy. A Hadith, a record of a saying or action of the Prophet or his followers, records that he once said: "If a man changes his religion, kill him." Later traditions have added some conditions, and a widely accepted understanding is that an apostate male should be persuaded three times to return to Islam and, failing this, be put to death. An apostate female should also be persuaded three times, failing which she should be locked up for the rest of her life. The more modernistic view, shared by senior Muslim scholars in Egypt, is that an apostate is granted the rest of his life to repent and return to Islam. Meanwhile, the government seems intent on making life as difficult as possible for the convert.
Ali Dashti quotes:
"Like any other regime, Islam has to protect itself therefore this punishment [execution] awaits the person who abandons it, because he is spreading doubt about Islam…"
Why oh why, does not the Western world not heed these words?
This quote exemplifies the reality of Islam.
It IS a regime. It is political. It is insidious.
Why do we wallow, in feigned ignorance, and allow these machinations to continue?
Because we have created something much more insidious: Political Correctness.
This newly founded creed, one which I certainly didn't contribute or subscribe to, is our bane.
That bane allows all foul and creepy agendas to have a face. A political face with its unacceptable agenda to somehow sneek its way into the mainstream.
Wake up people! Your life and freedoms are being usurped by low lifes.
This is why ISLAM must be stopped!
Whatever apologists or Muslim Clerics do and say to 'tone down' Islam, they're always going to have
a problem with Allah's Messenger. Muhammed is such
a depraved, vicious,licentious Prophet - as comments from Kurdish Media show as increasing numbers throw away their Korans turning not so much to Christianity but Zoroastrians & others.
What is the betting on a Hadith being 'suddenly'
found to show Mo really was a Saint after all and
present rendering is a gigiantic fraud perpetrated
by the Jews....??
If Muslims didn't have the peril of losing one's life hanging over them, Islam would have few followers indeed. This is the only way they can keep people within the fold!