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| Afghanistan | |
| Apostasy Not Punishable By Death - In This Life | |
| 2006-03-27 | |
| Doha, 27 March (AKI) - Under Islam, apostasy - or renunciation of former religious beliefs - is not punishable by execution but "only in the afterlife," radical TV cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has told the IsamOnline website. He was reacting to the case of the Afghan man, Abdul Rahman, whom an Afghan court earlier this month charged with rejecting Islam and has been facing possible execution unless he re-converts to Islam. "Islam doesn't allow punishment for apostasy if the convert does not publicise their conversion and does not seek to proselytise. Punishment will be meted out on the day of judgement, should the convert die repudiating his orignal faith," said al-Qaradawi. Mohammed Salim al-Awwa, secretary general of the Union of Islamic Ulemas shared al-Qaradawi's view. As the imam of the Omara mosque in the Qatari capital, Doha, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and European Council for Fatwa and Research, al-Qaradawi is best-known for his appearances on the Al Jazeera satellite channel.
Rahman refuses to re-convert to the Muslim faith, and has said he is prepared to die for his religious beliefs. However, following intense international pressure on the Afghan government from many of its allies, including the United States and Germany, on Sunday, Afghanistan's Supreme Court announced it was dropping the case due to "gaps in the evidence" against Rahman. The convert is expected to be freed while his case is being reviewed by the attorney-general, although details of his release are being kept secret as feelings amongst religious hardliners in the country are running high. More than a thousand protesters took to the streets on Monday in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, demanding Rahman's execution. Observers say executing a converted Christian would be a significant precedent as a conservative interpretation of Sharia law in Afghanistan. Rahman's case is thought to be Afghanistan's first such trial, reflecting tensions between conservative clerics - who four years after the Taliban were overthrown still dominate the judiciary - and reformists. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 The Maliki School of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) imposes capital punishment (Had) for apostasy, as does the hanafi madhab. Check out 37:19 from this 9th century malaki manual. http://www.iiu.edu.my/deed/lawbase/risalah_maliki/book37.html Rape is legal for Muslim males unless another male - or 2-4 women - witnesses the attack. Unprovable accusations of rape are punishable under Had extermination. Muslim women usually find it better to withold rape accusations. However, often males brag about the crime and the woman is slaughtered to preserve family "honor." Maliki states: most of North Africa and the Persian Gulf states Hanafi states: from the Saud to the Paki terrorist entities. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-03-27 21:25 |
| #6 Babu Tata, the man is apparently long since wifeless, and his parents have had custody of his children these sixteen years. That was the original issue, that he came back to Afghanistan to reclaim the children, and his parents used his apostasy to fight his claim. So he may yet live out his natural lifespan, but it won't be with his children. (And truth to tell, after having left them until so near adulthood, how much could he really add to their development?) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-03-27 17:29 |
| #5 "We might not kill him if he keeps quiet, but he will of course have to have his children taken from him, be forcibly divorced from his wife and lose his job. We may also jail him from time to time if he does not stay out of our way, but we probably won't execute him. We are very civilized here." |
| Posted by: Baba Tutu 2006-03-27 14:30 |
| #4 mhw: According to this piece by Wretchard, quoting a Wikipedia entry: Though facing a possible death sentence, Rahman holds firm to his convictions: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept itÂ… I am a Christian, which means I believe in the TrinityÂ… I believe in Jesus Christ." Sounds like straight Christianity to me, the Trinity reference being the clincher. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-03-27 12:24 |
| #3 He must be one of those "moderate" Muslims. After all, he's not advocating for the guy's death... /sarcasm off |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-03-27 09:52 |
| #2 RC Yes. That is an important point. In the Rahman case, the judge asked him if he was an apostate and Rahman said, "no". Then Rahman went on to say he believed in Jesus. Depending on how much he said about Jesus, he could be simply affirming the fact that Jesus (Isa) is a prophet of Islam or he might have said that Jesus is the son of God which would move to the publicizing side of the line. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-03-27 09:20 |
| #1 Islam doesn't allow punishment for apostasy if the convert does not publicise their conversion... In other words -- shut up, keep acting like a Muslim, and we won't kill you. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-03-27 09:05 |