And why would they think that? Because they would be following the orders of Muhammad himself: "If anyone changes his religion, kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57).
Here is a brief account of the life of Peter El-Gohary since converting, and since the Egyptian court denied his right to be legally recognized as a Christian. "A Christian on the run in Egypt," by Jeffrey Fleishman for the Los Angeles Times, August 22:
Reporting from Alexandria, Egypt - It is a clear day along the coast, but in a bungalow off the beach, Maher El Gohary sits behind a locked door with an open Bible and a crystal cross, suspicious of every voice and sandal scraping past outside.
He and his daughter, Dina, live like refugees, switching apartments every few months, not wanting to get close to neighbors. Gohary's life has been threatened, his dogs have been killed, and it's been suggested that he's insane or possessed by spirits.
He is a man this Muslim nation cannot fathom: a convert to Christianity.
"Islam is the only thing Egyptians are 150% sure of. If you reject Islam, you shake their belief and you are an apostate, an infidel," he says. "I can see in the eyes of Muslims how much my conversion has really hurt them."
Egypt's Coptic Christians, who represent about 10% of the population, have a history that veers from coexistence to violence with the Muslim majority. Bloody clashes recently erupted between Copts and Muslims over land disputes and restrictions on churches.
But converts, such as Gohary, are even more unsettling. Islamists believe that Muslims who forsake their religion should be punished by death.
Gohary wants to be called Peter and refuses to yield. He has filed a lawsuit asking an Egyptian court to officially recognize him as a Copt by changing the denomination on his national ID card from Muslim to Christian. The court ruled against him in June, finding that Gohary's baptism documents from the Coptic Orthodox Church were "legally invalid." The verdict is on appeal.
The case highlights the religious and political complexities that drive modern Egypt. The nation often seems at battle with itself as it attempts to balance the ideals of a democracy with laws steeped in Islamic principles.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the constitution, but fatwas and religious edicts from clerics subject converts from Islam to persecution and threats. The government treads uneasily, not wanting to anger religious conservatives who stubbornly guard Islam's grip on society.
Converts such as Gohary "should be killed by authorities," says Abdul Aziz Zakareya, a cleric and former professor at Al Azhar University. "Public conversions can lead to very dangerous consequences. The spreading of a phenomenon like this in a Muslim society can cause many unwanted results and tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims."
A tall man in blue shorts and rimless glasses, Gohary, 56, looks as if he is ready to walk the beach. But he and Dina have just moved to the three-room bungalow. Their suitcases are still packed; the only thing hanging on the walls is a clothesline. Listening for noises outside, Gohary speaks of how years earlier the teachings of Jesus, especially parables on forgiveness and loving your enemy, changed his life.
"In Islam, if you steal your hands are cut off, but in Christianity you can be forgiven," he says. "This compassion is what attracted me." [...]
Gohary is reportedly the second Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity who has tried unsuccessfully to have his religious identity officially changed. The first, Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, went into hiding after his home was set ablaze. Religious statistics in Egypt are often manipulated and unreliable; estimates on converts to Christianity range from several thousand to hundreds of thousands.
Early this year, the courts showed a degree of religious tolerance by ruling that members of the minority Bahai faith could be issued ID cards that didn't identify them by religion. They previously had the option of only Muslim, Christian or Jew. Gohary's lawyer, Nabil Ghobrial, says judges are more hostile toward converts and are ignoring the law and ruling on "their personal religious beliefs."
Says Gohary: "I'm not so much afraid of the government anymore. It's conservative Muslims who worry me. Some of them believe whoever kills me is rewarded. When I go to court, I'm surrounded by police protection."...
And why, exactly, are we still refraining from condemning Islam and all Muslims who follow it...?
Could someone please enlighten me?
"In Islam, if you steal your hands are cut off, but in Christianity you can be forgiven," he says. "This compassion is what attracted me." [...]
Not only that, MANY Christians not only will forgive you, they'll give you what you've stolen and more.
This is probably common in Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions.
The New Civil Rights Movement should be about Freedom to Leave Islam.
"In Islam, if you steal your hands are cut off, but in Christianity you can be forgiven," he says. "This compassion is what attracted me."
And that is exactly why the release of the Libyan convict on grounds of compassion was the best and strongest signal we could send to the Muslim world.
The post-Christian European culture can show forgiveness and compassion. Islam is all about revenge and supremacy.
"Public conversions can lead to very dangerous consequences. The spreading of a phenomenon like this in a Muslim society can cause many unwanted results and tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims."
Some Muslims just cannot deal with the fact that Muslim would actually want to leave the worst religion on the planet...The truth is that more and more Muslims want to abandon the worst religion on the planet for other religions that offer more.....the Muslim believers cannot handle the truth and offer only death...death if you leave and death if you stay....It is easy to understand why some want to leave this farce of a religion...
Says Gohary: "I'm not so much afraid of the government anymore. It's conservative Muslims who worry me. Some of them believe whoever kills me is rewarded. When I go to court, I'm surrounded by police protection."...
Wow. Where else did we hear that last week?
"Public conversions can lead to very dangerous consequences."
Yes, it could lead to the collapse of the cult if people thought they could get out of it alive.
Now where would a religious scholar like Mr. Zakareya get the idea that apostates from Islam should be killed? Perhaps Ibrahim Hooper and Ahmad Rehab could explain to him why he is wrong, and how the Qur'an teaches there is "no coercion in religion"?
God is love. Islam is not. Allah forces worship. Love and worship are voluntary or it has no virtue.
Mohammad was a tyrant, forcing his way to power and satisfying his lusts. His religion mirrors his own nature.
God is love. Islam is not. Allah forces worship. Love and worship are voluntary or it has no virtue.
Mohammad was a tyrant, forcing his way to power and satisfying his lusts. His religion mirrors his own nature.
God is love. Islam is not. Allah forces worship. Love and worship are voluntary or it has no virtue.
Mohammad was a tyrant, forcing his way to power and satisfying his lusts. His religion mirrors his own nature.
'It's conservative Muslims who worry me. Some of them believe whoever kills me is rewarded...'
Yeah, it's those 'conservatives' that want to kill him...liberal Mahoundians are never lethal...Liberal Mahoundians don't buy into every thing in the Quran, the traditions of Mahound, nor sharia law...Literal Quran, examples of the perfect mans behavior acting perfectly, Sharia controls, and jihad are only things 'conservative' Mahoundians are interested in...It is not possible for a liberal Mahoundian to be a 'pious' Mahoundian, but conservatives can achieve it, if they keep their swords sharp, and their steeds at the ready...If I was Gohary, I wouldn't trust any liberal Mahoundians either...They probably would not kill him, but they might sell him to someone who would...
"And that is exactly why the release of the Libyan convict on grounds of compassion was the best and strongest signal we could send to the Muslim world."
Problem is, most will see that compassion as a weakness.
"And that is exactly why the release of the Libyan convict on grounds of compassion was the best and strongest signal we could send to the Muslim world."
Yes, it is. However, as KrazyKafir pointed out, compassion can be mistaken for weakness. To this, I would add that outgoing signals are irrelevant, when there is nothing on the receiving end. Yes, there may be a handful of Muslims who pick up the signal and recognize it--but they are an opressed minority.
Oh well... A tree isn't felled by one axe blow.
People are refraining from criticizing Islam and all of its followers out of fear that if they do, they will be killed if Islam ever ominates the world. Unfortunately, by not criticizing Islam, people are making it easier for Islam to take over the world.
Converts such as Gohary "should be killed by authorities," says Abdul Aziz Zakareya, a cleric and former professor at Al Azhar University. "Public conversions can lead to very dangerous consequences. The spreading of a phenomenon like this in a Muslim society can cause many unwanted results and tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims."
The spreading of a phenmenon such as this means the end of Islam and this tyrant cleric knows it.
It is also surprising to me that the LA Times ran this piece. I am sure there is going to be some "dialogue" and some "re-education" offered to the writer by some local Muslim propaganda groups.
This article should be sent to the judge in Florida who will oversee the trial of the young convert from Islam in Florida. The police seem to feel that her fear is baseless. This article shows it is not
Kudos to Jeffrey Fleishman (no doubt a good pious Muslim himself) and the LA Times for publishing this piece.
A few more articles like this and the cognitive dissonance will become unbearable for the average American reading mainstream media.
I can't wait for apologists Reza Aslan and Sumbul Ali-Karamali to explain how these Islamic authorities -- and the mobs out to kill the convert -- have gotten Islam all wrong, and yet in the other breath write, as Ali-Karamali has, things like Al-Azhar being a "great center for Islamic studies."
Briars,
Actually I've noticed over the years that the Los Angeles Times has printed many stories one wouldn't think the MSN would dare print. They aren't Jihad Watch by any stretch, but they are at least better than the other major newspapers I can think of in this regard, even the Wall Street Journal.
So here is a Muslim scholar, a professor at the prestigious (at least by Islamic standards) al-Azhar University to boot, clearly stating that the execution of apostates from Islam is obligated. Yet, for some reason, our liberal-left elites in the media do not want to acknowledge this in the case of Rifqa Bary, herself a convert from Islam to Christianity. These liberal newspapers would rather parrot the disingenuous and deceitful talking points feed to them by CAIR. The multiculturalist left never asks why Maher "Peter" El Gohary, Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, and Rifqa Bary live in fear for their very lives simply for accepting Christianity. Instead we are feed sinister conspiracy theories about nebulous Christian cults and pastors trying to brainwash little girls or create sectarian conflicts.
"The spreading of a phenomenon like this in a Muslim society can cause many unwanted results and tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims."
Nothing is said here about the fact that the 'tensions' are caused by muslims only, the religion that our fearless leader calls peaceful and tolerant. It is really scary to think that he actually believes that!!
In a sane world, it would be official policy in America and Europe to encourage apostasy from Islam, with ex-Muslims provided de-programming counseling and something akin to a "witness protection" service, with new identities issued, etc.
But of course it's not a sane world.
Hesperado - re. the LA Times, and your observation that the LA Times "has printed many stories one wouldn't think the MSN [MSM?] would dare print."
Then I do hope that you have written to the proprietors of that newspaper, and to the editor, expressing your approval of their publication of this article (about El-Gohary) and explaining why you approve. Tell them what they *are* getting right; framed in unequivocal language that may help them toward further realization. (Throw in mention of each of the other Islam-related stories that you believe they have gotten at least partly right, or that they have published when other MSM outlets have observed a stony silence).
Bottom line: if the LA Times discovers that printing a story like this garners them *positive* strokes and an increase in sales and online subscriptions and buying of ad space, they will print more.
Gohary is quoted as saying that Islam is the only thing Egyptians are 150% sure of. Well, he is incorrect on two counts: 100% is the maximum and there is no such thing as 150%, and, anyone with any experience of Egyptians knows that the acquisition of money, by any means, is their true religion!