Indonesia: Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity accused of blasphemy, tortured in prison

Many in Indonesia will be happy if Kace is murdered. The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)

A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”

Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”

“Indonesian Christian YouTuber ‘tortured in detention,'” by Ryan Dagur, UCANews, September 20, 2021:

An Indonesian Christian YouTuber who was detained for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad claims he was brutally tortured by fellow prisoners.

Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, has reported several of the prisoners, including high-ranking police officer Napoleon Bonaparte, a bribery convict.

Andi Rian Djadji, the national police’s director of general crimes, said Bonaparte had confessed during questioning.

“He and several other perpetrators beat Kace. They also covered his face and body with human feces,” he said.

In an open letter on Sept. 19, Bonaparte claimed that his actions were motivated by his anger over Kace’s video, which has not been removed from YouTube.

“Anyone can insult me, but not against my Allah, the Quran, the Prophet and my Islamic faith,” he said. “Therefore, I swear I will take any measured action against anyone who dares to do so.”

Anwar Abbas, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, said this case sends a message that the issue of blasphemy is a sensitive matter.

“No matter how high a person’s position is and no matter how great people’s knowledge of the law is, if their religion and beliefs are disturbed, then what will speak apart from ratios is also their feelings of faith,” he said in a statement, referring to Bonaparte, who is a two-star general and former head of the international division of the national police….

Kace has been detained since August after being reported by Muslim groups for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad by claiming the prophet was “surrounded by devils and wilds.”

In a video, he said: “Muhammad is unknown by God and is only known by his followers because he is surrounded by devils.”

Police said he had uploaded at least 400 videos on YouTube insulting Islam.

Kace, who used to be an Islamic cleric in West Java, reportedly began criticizing Islam after he was baptized a Christian in 2014.

While a Muslim, he taught at an Islamic boarding school and went on the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia three times.