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.”
“Muslim Mob Allegedly Kills Pastor For Converting Man To Christian In Kano, Razes House, Church, Mission School,” Sahara Reporters, September 27, 2021 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A Muslim mob has allegedly killed a pastor identified as Reverend Yohanna Shuaibu in Massu, a village in the Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano State.
According to the Hausa Christian Foundation (HACFO) in a statement on Sunday, the mob also burnt down the slain pastor’s house, church, and mission school.
The incident reportedly happened when a young Muslim man who converted to Christianity allegedly killed his brother’s wife during a fight and the mob suspected that the pastor had a hand in his alleged conversion.
The statement read, “Rev. Shuaibu has been the Northeastern Evangelist of New Life Church and the CAN chairman of Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano state in Nigeria. He lived in a village called Massu.
“Recently, the growth of the Missionary base in Massu had been envied by the Moslems and the wish for its uproot from the environment for no justifiable reasons.
“A few days ago, one young man who converted from Islam but has neither been going to church nor mosque fought with his brother’s wife. In the cause of the fight, he hit her with a piston and she died. The young man surrendered himself to the Mopol (mobile police) that are stationed in the area and was taken to the station for further prosecution.
“The place became so tensed as people who heard the position of the Moslems in the area advised the Reverend to leave the area for a safer place because the Moslems felt the young man who killed a woman in a fight is a Christian, sensing that as usual, they might attack and the Reverend was the main target, especially because of his obvious exploits.
“He left for one of the neighbouring villages called Biri where he stayed for a night, the next day he came back to vacate the school pupils to avoid any eventualities knowing that if the school activities continued, the children can easily be targeted and killed.
“The late Reverend Shuaibu noticed that the tension was dowsed and he thought he could stay with his family and people, but the Moslems gathered their mob and descended on him, macheted him badly, burnt down his house, the church, and the school in the night.
“His wife was able to sneak out with the children in the midst of the mob since it was dark already. The report reached the brethren in other villages and the vice CAN chairman called the police. Before they arrived, the damage was already great. They rushed him to the hospital to try to resuscitate him but he could not make it….
Kepha says
A bit off topic, save in that it relates to the Huntingtonian “clash of civilizations” and perceptions that Islam is creating worldwide.
Someone posted on FB an anti-Christian rant about Crusades, forced conversions, etc. In the comments, I saw notes from two Thai Buddhists. One spoke of Christians as kindly people who taught him English both in his own country and when he was a grad student in America; the other observed that the Crusades weren’t launched until the Muslims had conquered large swathes of Christian Byzantine patrimony. I wonder if this “pro-Christianism” form outsiders might not be due to the Islamic separatism in southern Thailand, and the perceived “eating away” of the Rakhine region in former Burmer by Muslim Bengalis (called Rohingya in Myanmar).
mortimer says
Vigilantism is one of the dirty secrets of Islam. Muslims use it commonly to ‘cure’ blasphemy or uppity non-Muslims who don’t give Muslims the amount of supremacism that Muslims think they are entitled to. Any excuse whether real or fantasized can trigger such revenge-vigilantism in a fanatically Muslim region.
The rate of defections from Islam to Christianity in Nigeria is one the phenomenons of the last 40 years. Muslims in Nigeria are aware of this and cannot find a way to slow it down, because Islam is seen by Nigerians as backward and stagnant, while the Christian West is seen as the way to enlightenment, success and stability. So the Nigerian Muslims are turning to vigilantism.
There is no question that Islam is the source of backwardness, illiteracy, corruption, failed states and stagnation for much of the world. So why would an enlightened person want to import Islam into the West, since it has nothing in it to improve our lives?
Vigilante terrorism is normative Islam, because it is prescribed in the manuals of Sharia law and by leading scholars of Islamic universities. Islam is far from ‘benign’. While most Muslims do not practice terrorism, terrorism is right there in Sharia law for anyone who is interested.
It is remarkable how often Muslims join in fanatical groups like this one and commit vigilante destruction of life and property.
john smith says
+1
gravenimage says
Good post, Mortimer. Grimly true about Islamic vigilantism.
mr clive delmonte says
Muslims are barbarians who, it is claimed, are given rights by the Messenger, mostly at the expense of women’ rights.
I understand only too well why Egypt has outlawed the Brotherhood.
I hope our authorities are awake and alert on this one, but there is little evidence so far.
gravenimage says
Christians are still persecuted in Egypt as well, Clive. It is Islam that is the problem, not just the Muslim Brotherhood.
wpm says
Without violence or the threat of violence Islam would have died 1400 years ago .It is spread by violence, and enforced by violence, it is totally intolerant of any competing ideas because it is an illogical mess that can only win by killing or suppressing logic and free will threw violence.
gravenimage says
+1
gravenimage says
Nigeria: Muslim Mob kills pastor for converting Muslim to Christianity, destroys his house, church, and school
…………….
Just horrifying–this poor man. And Nigerian authorities will likley do nothing to protect his wife and children and fellow Christians.
OLD GUY says
And who wants to bring this to America? If you think this only happens over there, you will be sadly mistaken when it shows up in your neighborhood. The migration invasion of islamic refugees will result in the death of American Christians right here as the invading islamic numbers increase. Take a good look at what is happening in the UK and Europe, the violence will come here as well. How sad it will be when you have to be afraid to leave your home to go to church or the market. Or how about the islamic rape gangs finding your wife or daughter?
James Lincoln says
OLD GUY says,
“Take a good look at what is happening in the UK and Europe, the violence will come here as well.”
Yes, if the current fraudulent POTUS stays in office…