Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and IslamDebate on freedom of religion as a human right takes place not only in the Western world but also in Muslim communities throughout the world. For Muslims concerned for this freedom, one of the major difficulties is the 'punishment for apostasy' - death for those who desert Islam. This book argues that the law of apostasy and its punishment by death in Islamic law is untenable in the modern period. Apostasy conflicts with a variety of foundation texts of Islam and with the current ethos of human rights, in particular the freedom to choose one's religion. Demonstrating the early development of the law of apostasy as largely a religio-political tool, the authors show the diversity of opinion among early Muslims on the punishment, highlighting the substantial ambiguities about what constitutes apostasy, the problematic nature of some of the key textual evidence on which the punishment of apostasy is based, and the neglect of a vast amount of clear Qur'anic texts in favour of freedom of religion in the construction of the law of apostasy. Examining the significant challenges the punishment of apostasy faces in the modern period inside and outside Muslim communities - exploring in particular how apostasy and its punishment is dealt with in a multi-religious Muslim majority country, Malaysia, and the challenges and difficulties it faces there - the authors discuss arguments by prominent Muslims today for an absolute freedom of religion and for discarding the punishment of apostasy. |
Contents
Notes | |
The Historical Context of the Debate on Apostasy | |
Apostasy and Related Concepts | |
Punishment for Apostasy in Islamic Law and | |
Evidence against Capital Punishment for Apostasy | |
Apostasy and the Position of Muslim Thinkers in | |
Apostasy Law and its Potential for Misuse | |
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Abd Allah According accused of apostasy Administration of Islamic Administration of Muslim Allah apostasy in Islamic apostasy laws apostate Aqidah argued attained to faith believe blasphemy Caliph Christianity coercion committed considered Constitution convert death penalty declaration Enactment executed fatwa federal freedom of belief freedom of religion hadith Hanafis Hanbalis heresy heretics High Court hudud laws human rights hypocrites Islamic Family Law Islamic law issue jurisdiction Kelantan Kharijis killed law of apostasy Malaysia Malikis matters Maududi Mecca Medina modern period Mu“tazilis Muhammad Muslim community Negeri Sembilan Non-Islamic Religions non-Muslims number of Muslim offence one’s Online Lexis opponents penalty for apostasy Perlis person political pre-modern Islamic law prohibited Prophet punishment for apostasy Qur'an rehabilitation rejected religion of Islam religious freedom renouncing Islam repentance riddah Sarakhsi says Section Shafi“is Shawkani Shi“is Sufis sunnah Sunni Syariah court temporal punishment theological ulama Umayyad UMNO unbelievers verse zindiq