After all, the Muslim Prophet Muhammad said, "Baddala deenahu, faqtuluhu" -- if anyone changes his religion, kill him (cf. Bukhari vol. 9, bk. 84, no. 57). As far as many Muslims are concerned, this command is not a dead historical relic, but a live mandate. "From Muslim leader to evangelist for Christ," from [1] Compass Direct:

His father sent him to Saudi Arabia from Nigeria when he was 3 years old to be trained as an Islamic cleric, but God had other plans for Ahmed Abdullahi.

Raised in Saudi Arabia and born into a northern Nigeria family with several relatives who are Muslim clerics, Abdullahi was an unlikely candidate to become a Christian evangelist to African Muslims. His path to Christ, however, has carried him past all obstacles -- including the death sentence his family has pronounced over him -- to become just that.

Abdullahi has not seen his family in more than 20 years. Those who warmly embraced him when he returned from Saudi Arabia in 1980 as a learned, 30-year-old Muslim cleric felt they had no choice but to kill him when he turned to Christ. “When I told my people that I have decided to follow Jesus Christ, they planned to kill me, forcing me to run away,” Abdullahi told Compass.