Chapter One
The Apostate
Relinquishing
the Faith
Regardless of whether the Muslim embraces
Christianity (as is happening today with millions of the
Indonesians) or becomes an atheist, Islamic law declares that he
must be killed. Also, anyone who rejects any of the basic
ordinances of Islam or insults the prophet or the Qur'an (as
Salman Rushdie did) will be regarded as an apostate and must be
killed. It is well-known that all Muslim scholars agree upon
these points without exception. They also avow that the prophet
Muhammad said it, and they practice it with those who relinquish
Islam and become apostate. The scholars also teach that this is
what all the Caliphs (Muhammad's successors) did after him.
Contemporary scholars declare without any shame that the
Muslim's freedom to change his faith is non-existent and is not
recognized by Islam.
Contemporary
Scholars
The Azhar University in Egypt
It is well-known that Egypt is the largest
Arab/Islamic country in the world. The University of Azhar has
been regarded through the years as the Mineret (light) of Islam
for the entire Islamic world. The Legislative committee at the
Azhar issued "The Bill of Legal Punishments. This book has been
sent to all the Mosques in the West accompanied by a descriptive
memorandum for these laws. The legislative committee requested
Muslims to implement these penalties and comply with Islamic
law. This bill was written both in Arabic and in English. It
deals with the penalties imposed by Islamic law such as
amputation of the thief's hand and the scourging of the wine
drinker. However, we would like to deal here with the penalty
for the apostate who relinquishes the Islamic faith.
Provisions
Specific to Apostasy
The "Bill of Legal Punishments" says
(p.12),
"A person guilty of apostasy (man or
woman) shall be put to death if repentance is not made
within the period allowed which shall not exceed sixty days.
Repentance of a person who commits apostasy more than twice
shall not be accepted.
"An apostate is that Muslim who has
renounced the faith of Islam irrespective of his adoption of
another creed.
"The crime of apostasy is committed in
the following ways:
- making an explicit statement or
committing an act definitely indicating renunciation of
Islam,
- denial of essential tenets of the
faith,
- bringing into ridicule through
word or action, the Gracious Koran."
On page 30, we find this explanatory
note:
"The ordained penalty for apostasy is
based on the Sunnahh. The prophet, peace be on him, said,
‘One who changes his faith is to be killed' (al Bukhari). It
is also narrated by Al Dar Qutni that when a woman called
Umm-Marwan had renounced Islam, the Prophet ordered that if
she failed to repent she should be put to death. The rightly
guided Caliphs continued this practice. It is fully known
that Abu-Bakr the truthful fought against those who had
deserted from the religion of Islam and killed many. The
Gracious Companions were of the same view, and a consensus
emerged on this issue."
These are the verdicts of the contemporary
Azhar scholars. They are the most knowledgeable people in the
laws of the Islamic traditions of Muhammad and the actions taken
by his successors.
The Scholars of Saudi Arabia
In one of his speeches which was published
by the Tunisian newspapers, the former President of that country
assaulted the Qur'an and said it is full of contradictions. He
also said that Muhammad was a desert man who wrote myths in the
Qur'an. The Saudi scholars wrote a book in which they threatened
him. On the cover of the book, the following was printed:
"From the publications of the Islamic
League of the Madina Munawwara in Saudi Arabia:
"The Verdict of Islam: ‘To him who alleged
that the Qur'an is contradictory and includes some myths, who
described the apostle Muhammad to imply that he was inflicted
with vices or one who attacked his message...'
In page 13 of this book, Sheikh
'Abdul-'Aziz, along with all the Sheiks of Saudi Arabia, said:
"The verdict of Islam is to sentence
to death anyone who commits such things. Thus the president
Abu Ruqayba must haste to repent."
They assured him (pages 14 and 15) that
all Muslim scholars have agreed that anyone who does these
things must be killed. They said this is also the opinion of the
heads of the four major Islamic schools. The major Islamic
schools are the Shafi'i, Malik, Abu Hanifa, and Ahmad. It is
well-known that the former president of Tunisia did not change
his liberal opinions regarding Muhammad and the Qur'an which he
mentioned in his speeches.
It is public knowledge in Tunisia that it
is forbidden for a man to marry more than one woman. Thus,
Western society should not have been surprised when Khomeini
ordered the execution of Rushdie because this is the opinion of
all Muslim scholars as well as the heads of the four leading
schools.
The Egyptian State Assembly:
The Highest Judicial Authority
On August 6, 1977, the most prestigious
newspaper in Egypt, al-Ahram, published the following statement:
"The state assembly has approved a
bill to enact the penalty for apostasy. The apostate who
intentionally relinquishes Islam by explicit declaration or
decisive deed must be put to death. Apostasy is established
by one confirmation or by the testimony of two men. The
apostate is forbidden to administer his properties. He will
be given 30 days to repent before the execution of the
sentence of death. But if one converted to Christianity was
10-14 years old, he will only be scourged fifty times."
This law has not been implemented
in Egypt up to now. This is because of the objection of some
liberal, enlightened writers such as Mustafa Amin who published
an article in the Akhbar newspaper during the same month, in
which he said,
"We have to think one thousand times
before we approve such a law because any divine religion
does not need a gallows to protect it. It does not need a
sword to cut off the necks of those who disagree with it."
Mustafa Amin is a very famous person in
all the Arab world for his noble character, knowledge, and
boldness, but he does not know (or maybe he does know) that the
religion of Islam surely does need a gallows to protect it
because the law of apostasy is an Islamic law.
The most astonishing part of the statement
of the Egyptian state assembly is this: "The apostasy is
established by the testimony of two men." Yet it is possible
that two Muslim men may come forward and testify that they heard
such-and-such a Christian man saying, "I am converted to Islam
and I testify that Muhammad is the apostle of God." They may say
that while actually the man has never made that claim. Still,
the testimony of the Muslim witness will be accepted. In this
case, that poor man has no choice but either to embrace Islam or
be put to death.
It is a detestable law which is rejected
by the Egyptian government (they do not implement it) though
many Muslims in Egypt have already become Christians. This is
because the government is a secular government and not an
Islamic one, but the government is subject to increasing
pressure, day after day, from the terroristic Islamic forces.
What Happens To Muslims in
Egypt Who Become Christians
In January of 1986, the Egyptian
authorities arrested eight people (males and females) whose ages
ranged from 20-30 years. The charge was that they had embraced
Christianity several years before. Eight months later, they were
released from jail after their story was publicized in many of
the Western newspapers and magazines. What is important to us
here is that while the eight Christians were in prison, a Muslim
leader wrote to the government demanding that they execute
them—not just keep them under arrest. On the second of July
1986, "The Islamic Light" newspaper which is published by the
Ahrar party (the freemen party), said in an article titled,
"Point of Absurdity":
"Two things we find absurd. The first
one is that the Egyptian church is demanding their immediate
release and has contacted the International Amnesty
Committee to convey its indignation for the imprisonment of
eight people because of their apostasy from Islam. The
second thing which we call absurdity is that the Egyptian
government was content to arrest them only. It was supposed
to execute Islamic law upon them; namely, death if they do
not repent. The government must make this clear to all the
world and be proud of this law because it is God's verdict.
"
Maybe such a verdict honors this
newspaper, but it does not honor the Egyptian government. It
does not even honor her
to hold them in jail; that is why she
released them.
This is not God's verdict, my
friend. God is love and respects man's decisions. God wants to
set you free from your delusions in order to bring you to the
light of the truth. What really amazes us is the common
impression that God is vindictive like the law would imply. What
adds to our amazement is that the name of the newspaper is "The
Journal of Light" and the name of your party is "The Party of
the Freemen." What light and what freedom are these? This
Islamic law is a shame!
The United States—Land of
Freedom and Human Rights— and the United Nations
The Muslim Youth in New York publish a
weekly Islamic magazine called al-Tahrir ("Liberation"). In its
issue of February 5, 1983, the chief editor wrote an article
under the title, "The Symptoms of Apostasy in the Islamic
Society". On page 15, he said:
"The apostate is not only the person
who relinquishes Islam and embraces another religion, but
the symptoms of apostasy are many, and those who practice
them are regarded as infidels and apostate and deserve to be
killed. The symptoms of apostasy are: when the ruler does
not govern by God's law (most of the Muslim rulers do that),
or when the ruler derides some aspect of the religion or one
of the Islamic laws as the ex-president of Egypt, al-Sadat,
did when he said that the dress of the Muslim women is like
a tent.
"Another symptom of apostasy is that a
Muslim believes in the Qur'an only and rejects tradition;
namely, the sayings and deeds of Muhammad (the Sunnahh) and
attacks the apostle Muhammad by any insult or criticism of
the Qur'an. Also among the symptoms of apostasy is the
promotion of mottoes which may contradict the Qur'an, such
as the mottoes of nationalism, patriotism, and humanism!
Anyone who calls for these mottoes is regarded as an infidel
and an apostate and deserves to be killed if he does not
repent. Also, anyone who believes in Masonianism. "
We respond by saying that the writer is
right according to the Islamic tenets, but what is the view of
the American police of these claims and of this newspaper,
especially since many Iranians and
Arabs in the U.S. have become Christians
and American citizens. They are under the threat of death in
accordance with the Islamic law.
The Former
Scholars
Without exception, all the former scholars
agree on depriving any person the right of freedom to change his
religion and they call for the death penalty for anyone who does
so. I have chosen the most important and famous scholars—those
who are acknowledged by all Muslims.
The Imam al-Shafi'i
In his book, "The Ordinances of the
Qur'an" (part 1, p. 289), he remarks:
"If someone becomes a Muslim then
apostatizes, he would be asked to repent; if he does not
repent, he should be killed."
Al-Shafi'i is one of the four founders of
the jurisprudence schools who (the Saudi scholars said) have
agreed that the apostate must be put to death.
Ibn Hazm
In Vol. 4, p. 316 of his volume, "The
Sweetened" (Al Muhalla), Ibn Hazm says:
"Any of the infidels who said, ‘There
is no God but God, and Muhammad is the apostle of God', he
became a Muslim obligated to Islamic laws. If he rejected
that later on, he would be subject to death. But if he was
one of the people of the Book (namely, from the Jews or
Christians), in order to become a Muslim, he must say, ‘I
have embraced Islam.' Then he becomes a Muslim obligated to
the Islamic laws. If he rejected them, he would be killed."
Ibn Taymiyya
This famous scholar, who is called Sheikh
al-Islam, says under the title of the law pertaining to the
apostate,
"The Muslim who does not pray must be
ordered to pray; if he refuses to pray, he must be put to
death, because he would be an infidel and apostate,
according to the scholars and Imams, even if he said that
Muhammad is the apostle of God, and even if he was convinced
of the purposes of prayers" (Vol. 35, pp. 105-106).
In Vol. 32, pp. 276 and 279, he addresses
this matter, namely, the killing of one who abandoned prayers.
Then he speaks to husbands:
"If a wife abstain from praying, she
would be asked to repent. The husband may scourge her to
repent, otherwise she must be killed."
It is well-known that the majority of
Muslims do not pray the daily five prayers, especially t
he wives who do not have enough time to do
so. Thus, in this case, if the husband is a true Muslim, he
would beat his wife to force her to pray, and if she declined to
obey he must condemn her to death! God, have mercy upon us!
This judgment is not the verdict of Ibn
Taymiyya only, but (as he frequently claimed), it is a verdict
which all the scholars and Imams recognize. Actually our
research has led us to believe Ibn Taymiyya's claim. In part 11,
Vol. 8, Ibn Hazm in his book, "al-Muhalla" ("The Sweetened", p.
378), repeats the same words and declares to us that this is
also the opinion of the Shafi'i and Malik, both of whom
emphasize that the one who abandons prayers and does not repent
must be killed. Sahih of Muslim (Vol. 1, p. 267 ) indicates that
this is also the view of 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Yet Abu Hanifa has
a slightly different opinion. He says that the one who ignores
prayer will not be killed but must be scourged until he repents.
If he does not repent, he must be continuously, beaten even if
he dies under the punishment.
From
the Inception of Islam
Sayings of Muhammad and His Successors
|
Prophet of Mercy and Freedom
We have already seen how the scholars of
the Azhar based their resolution concerning the death penalty of
the apostate on Muhammad's saying: "Who relinquishes his faith,
kill him." This is quoted on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas as it
is recorded in Sahih of al-Bukhari (part 9, p. 19). Not only
al-Bukhari but the following scholars also ascribe this famous
statement to Muhammad!
° Ibn Hazm,
pp. 129 and 401, part 8 Vol. 11
° Ibn
Hisham, p. 284, part 3, of Muhammad's biography, al rawd
al-Anaf.
° Ibn
Qayyim al-Jawziyya, p. 45, part 5 of his book Zad al-Ma'ad
in which he asserts that Muhammad uttered these words and
condemned anyone who relinquished his faith.
Other statements by Muhammad
Related to this Issue:
In a very famous declaration, Muhammad
defines three cases in which a Muslim must be killed:
"The blood of the Muslim is not lawful
[to be shed] except in three cases: Infidelity after faith,
adultery after marriage, and killing a soul without any
right."
What is important to us here is his
phrase "Infidelity after faith." If you ask me who claimed that
Muhammad said this, I will respond: All former and contemporary
scholars, without exception, attest to that.
When 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, the third caliph
and the husband of Ruqayya the daughter of Muhammad, was
besieged by some famous Muslim companions of the apostle, he
reminded them of Muhammad's sayings and asked them: "For which
of these three reasons do you intend to kill me?" and "Am I not
the prince of believers?" Yet they killed him. Among those who
were involved in his assassination were Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr El
Seddik and 'Ammar Ibn Yasir. (Refer to the Chronicle of
al-Tabari Vol. 2, p. 669, and all the books of the Islamic
history such as the "Chronicle of the Caliphs" by the as-Suyuti
and Ibn Kathir).
This statement is also recorded in the
following:
° Sahih of
Muslim Vol. I, p. 267 (the interpretation of Nawawi).
° Shafi'i,
"The Ordinances of the Qur'an", part 2, p. 46.
° Ibn Hazm,
part 11, Vol. 8, p. 377 and restated also on p. 400.
° The
Sheikh Shaltute in his famous book, "Islam: a Dogma and a
Law", p. 322.
° Dr. Afifi
'Abdul-Fattah, in his widespread book, "The Spirit of the
Islamic Religion", p. 408.
It is obvious then, that this statement is
well documented and unquestionably ascribed to Muhammad. It is
also well-known that the Sahih of al-Bukhari has recorded in
part 9, p. 18 that:
"The apostate has to be killed based
on God's saying in the Qur'an: ‘And whosoever of you turns
from his religion and dies disbelieving..."' (the Chapter of
Cow: 217).
Deeds of Muhammad, Prophet of Mercy and Freedom |
The Supreme committee of law in the Azhar
mentioned that a woman by the name of Um Mirwan relinquished her
Islamic faith. Muhammad ordered her to repent or to be killed.
Islamic history books record also that when Muhammad conquered
Mecca, he sentenced to death all who apostatized or insulted him
(refer to the Chronicles of Tabari, part II, p. 160 and Ibn
Hisham part 4, pp. 15, 16 in "The Biography of the Prophet").
Muhammad's Companions and
Successors: What Did They Do?
Mu'adh Ibn Jabal and the
Jewish Man
He was one of Muhammad's greatest
companions among the "helpers." Even Muhammad himself said,
"Learn (to take) the Qur'an from four (people): Mu'adh Ibn Jabal
and ..." (refer to the Bukhari, part 6). The following
terrifying incident is recorded in the Sahih of al-Bukhari (part
9, p. 19):
"Mu'adh Ibn Jabal went to visit Abu
Musa the governor of Yemen. He offered him a cushion to sit
on. A man tied with ropes was there. Mu'adh asked Abu Musa:
‘What is this?' He answered, ‘This man was a Jew, then he
was converted to Islam, later he apostatized and turned a
Jew again.' Mu'adh said to him: ‘I will never even sit down
on a cushion until this man is put to death. (This is) the
verdict of God and His apostle.' (The governor) ordered him
to be killed. (Only after that) Abu Mu'adh sat."
Here we see a Jewish man who was
converted to Islam and later was convinced that he made a
mistake. Thus, he returned to his old faith and was tied with
ropes like an animal. Then Mu'adh came in and refused to sit
down on a cushion unless this man was put to death immediately;
so they executed him. Then, and only then, Mu'az sat, ate and
drank with Abu Musa who felt at peace with himself because he
believed that he had implemented the command of God and His
apostle, Muhammad. His apostle and the lord of the messengers,
the prophet of mercy and freedom, said, "Whosoever relinquishes
his faith, kill him."
Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Some
Christians
This brutal man used to burn apostates
whether they were alive or dead. He was the cousin of Muhammad
and his son-in-law. He was Muhammad's favorite friend and one of
the ten to whom Muhammad granted paradise. Muhammad reared him
before and after the death of his father and said that Ali was
the best one to judge according to Islamic law.
Now let us see what was recorded about Ali
Ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph, who is admired by both the
Shi'ites and Sunnis. In his eighth volume, part eleven of his
book, "The Sweetened", Ibn Hazm says (page 189),
"Ali brought apostates and burned
them. When Ibn 'Abas received the news he said: ‘If it were
me instead of (him), I would not have burned them but
I would rather have killed them in another
way because the apostle of God said: "Whosoever relinquishes his
faith, kill him.""'
This same incident is recorded in Sahih of
al-Bukhari (part 9, page 19). Ibn Hazm (in the same previous
source, p. 190) also relates what 'Ali did to some ex-Muslims
who were converted to Christianity. He narrates the following
three episodes:
Ibn Hazm says:
"They brought an old man to 'Ali who
was originally a Christian, then embraced Islam, and later
reconverted to Christianity. 'Ali told him: ‘Maybe you
apostatized to Christianity in order to acquire an
inheritance, and after that you would come back to Islam.'
The (old man) said: ‘No.' 'Ali asked him: ‘Maybe you
apostate to Christianity in order to get married to a
Christian girl and after that you would return to Islam.'
The old man said: ‘No.' 'Ali told him: ‘Then, re-embrace
Islam.' The old man said: ‘No, not before I meet Christ.'
'Ali ordered him (to be killed). They beheaded him.
"Another Muslim apostatized and became a
Christian. 'Ali ordered him to repent but he refused. 'Ali
killed him and did not deliver his corpse to his family. They
offered him a lot of money (to do so), but 'Ali refused and
burned the corpse.
"Another man from the tribe of bany 'Ijl
became a Christian. They brought him to 'Ali chained in irons.
'Ali talked to him for a long time. The man said to him: ‘I know
that Isa (Jesus) is the son of God.' Ali stood up and stepped on
him. When the people saw that, they, too, stood up and stepped
on him. Then 'Ali told them: ‘Kill him.' They killed him. Then
'Ali ordered them to burn him."
For God's sake, 'Ali! Is it because the
minds of those men (young and old) have been convinced by
Christianity that you ordered them to change their convictions?
When they refused to do so you tortured them ... or killed them
... or burned them.
'Uthman Ibn 'Affan
He is the third Caliph and the husband of
Raqiyya and then om Kalthom, the daughters of Muhammad. He is
also one of the ten to whom Muhammad granted paradise. Someone
came to 'Uthman and conveyed to him that some people from Iraq
had apostatized. 'Uthman wrote to the governor there and ordered
him to command them to repent and re-embrace Islam. If they
refused to do so, they all were to be killed. Some of them were
actually killed because they refused to return to Islam, while
others yielded and returned to Islam because of fear (refer to
Ibn Hazm, part 11, p. 190).
Abu Bakr and the Wars of
Apostasy
All the civilized world along with people
of free conscience regard these wars as tyrannical, savage and
barbaric. Wars which were waged without any justification. The
world will always wonder what the crime of these poor Arab
tribes was and what they did that made Abu Bakr, the first
Caliph, wage such long and brutal wars against them, killing
tens of thousands of people. All Muslims are quick to answer
that Abu Bakr was carrying out Muhammad's orders, as he himself
claimed, because these Arab tribes deserted Islam as soon as
Muhammad died. Therefore, the fight with them was inevitable.
Advanced countries and free human beings
do not comprehend or accept this answer which ignores the
simplest principles of human rights and personal freedom to
believe in the religious doctrine of their choice. If the reader
were given the opportunity to read any of the Islamic history
books, he would discover by himself the outrageous brutality
which was committed in these wars. Multitudes were massacred,
and the survivors were forced to re-embrace Islam and pay alms
to Abu Bakr El Seddik, the father of A'isha wife of Muhammad. Of
course, Abu Bakr was the first to whom Muhammad granted
paradise. He said about him, "Abu Bakr is the most favorite to
me among men, and his daughter A'isha is the most beloved among
women."
The wars of apostasy are taught in all the
schools of Arab and Islamic countries for all famous Islamic
chroniclers such as the Tabari, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Kathir and
Suyuti recorded them in detail. In the Chronicles of the Tabari
(part 2, pp. 258, 272), we read that Abu Bakr used to tell those
whom he sent to fight the apostatized tribes:
"Call them to re-embrace Islam; if
they refuse, do not spare any one of them. Burn them with
fire and kill them with force and take the women and
children as prisoners of war."
Abu Bakr frequently re-iterated these
famous words to Muslim warriors 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab used to
tell him that some of the tribes had returned to Islam, but they
refused to pay him alms. They said that alms should be paid only
to Muhammad, though they were ready to return to Islam. Abu Bakr
would respond: "By God, if they refrain from giving me a rope
which they used to pay to the apostle of God, I will fight them
for refusing" (refer to p. 175 of Vol. I of Sahih of Muslim,
interpretation of the Nawawi. Also refer to any book about the
wars of the apostasy).
There is a most important contemporary
book which was published by the Azhar University, entitled, "The
khulafa' al-Rashidun" ("The Rightly Guided Caliphs") by Dr. Abu
Zayd Shalabi, professor of Islamic civilization at the College
of Arabic language . The book was published in 1967. The author
presented detailed information about the Wars of Apostasy which
covered 20 pages (pp. 41-60). We would like to quote the
following here:
"Abu Bakr sent eleven Muslim generals
against eleven cities to fight the apostates. Many were
forced to re-embrace Islam. Among those countries were
Bahrin which was invaded by al-'Ala' Ibn al-Hadrami, and
Yemen which was attacked by Suwayd Ibn Maqrin. Kalid Ibn
al-Walid went to fight against Tulayha, the tribe of Bany
Asad and its neighboring Arab tribes."
Then, Abu Zayd comments on these wars on
page 60:
"The victories gained by Muslims in
the wars of apostasy had one very significant result: These
victories deterred anyone who intended to apostatize from
Islam."
The point, then, Dr. Shalabi, is that by
threat of death, Islam attempted to keep people against their
will, in the realm of Islam. Aren't you also ashamed to record
in your book, that by means of offensive wars, Islam spread all
over the Middle East! Does not that motivate you to re-examine
your religion? Your logic is very strange. These wars deterred
anyone who intended to relinquish Islam because he would face
the same fate which other Arab tribes had faced. Yet the people
of Indonesia will not be deterred or intimidated; their
civilized government protects them. They come to Christ by the
millions and we pray that you, too, will come.
Ibn Hisham
Ibn Hisham, in "Muhammad's Biography
"(Al-Sirat El Nabawia, part 4, p. 180 ), says:
"When Muhammad died, most Meccans were
about to turn away from Islam and wanted to do so. Suhayl
Ibn 'Amru stood up and said: 'Anyone who relinquishes Islam,
we will cut his head off.' People changed their minds and
were afraid."
This was in regard to Meccans, but the
majority of the Arab tribes actually turned away from Islam. Abu
Bakr fought them. The ruthlessness of Khalid Ibn al-Walid was
very apparent. Dr. Abu Zayd said about Khalid Ibn al-Walid that
he was the one who gouged out the eyes of apostates.
Still, there are important questions in
this regard which beg our attention and they are: Why did the
Arabs become apostate after the death of Muhammad? Why did the
Meccans intend to turn away from Islam? The familiar answer is
that they had embraced Islam under the threat of the sword
because Muhammad forced them to choose between Islam or death.
There are two important questions to which
a large number of people would like to have answers.
The First Question
How Do
Muslims Justify Killing Apostates?
The assassination of an apostate (one who
turns away from his faith) is considered to be a breach of
freedom of religious belief as well as an obvious contradiction
of the International Declaration of Human Rights (item 18) which
most of the Arab countries have signed. What do contemporary
Muslim scholars say about this serious matter?
The scholars of Kuwait and Qatar dealt
with this question. The weekly Kuwaiti Magazine, "The Islamic
Society" in its issue of April 17,1984, p. 26 said:
"Somebody may say: ‘Do you want to
deny freedom to people?' We say to him: ‘If what is meant by
freedom is to disbelieve in God's religion, or the freedom
of infidelity and apostasy, then that freedom is abolished
and we do not recognize it; we even call for its
eradication, and we strive to oppress it. We declare that
publicly and in daylight"' (Quoted from Dr. Taha Jabir's
article).
Then Dr. Jabir goes on to explain that
Islam does not acknowledge this sort of freedom at all; namely,
the freedom of apostasy. He then begins (on page 26) to
criticize Islamic governments which allow the media means to
make apostasy easier, to regard it as a personal right to anyone
who seeks it.
The International Declaration
of Human Rights
In order to understand the response of
Islam to this declaration, let us go to another Arab Islamic
country. Dr. Ahmad from Qatar has a response to this
declaration. Dr. Ahmad is a contemporary Muslim scholar and a
reputed professor of Islamic law at the University of Qatar. In
1981, he published a famous book under the title, "Individual
Guarantees in Islamic Law". If we turn to pages 15 and 16 of
this book, we find him saying:
"Item 18 of the International
Declaration of Human Rights states that each individual has
the full right to change his faith or to relinquish it as he
wishes in order to protect the freedom of thought and the
freedom of belief. We wonder if this freedom of changing
one's faith would be conducive to harm him along with
others? Or even if the purpose of changing the faith is to
sow the seeds of riots and spread viciousness in the land or
to waver the faith from the hearts of others?"
What did you mean, Dr. Ahmad, when you
said: "Even if changing one's faith would be conducive to harm
one's self?" Is this your personal point of view or is it the
point of view of the person himself? Why do you impose your
personal point of view on all people—because you think that it
is a sound view? You believe that relinquishing Islam causes
harm to the person who does it, but this is your own conviction.
What if somebody else believes differently and is convinced that
to continue as a Muslim will bring him harm? If for his own
welfare, he wants to be converted to Christianity and to believe
in the One who died for him so that he may live a life of peace,
joy, love and holiness, why do you come to that person and tell
him, "We forbid you! We do not grant you the freedom to change
your faith. If you do that, we will kill you lest you harm
yourself!"
Maybe it was for this reason that
Muhammad, Ali and 'Uthman killed the apostates and Abu Bakr
fought those who turned away from Islam, killing tens of
thousands ... "lest they harm themselves" !
In regard to your statement that the one
who relinquishes his faith will shake faith in the hearts of
others: this has nothing to do with his conviction. It is their
problem with their own creed and not with him. He is seeking his
own spiritual welfare and is persuaded to embrace another
religion. Maybe it is better for those people to doubt their
faith or even to have it uprooted from their hearts, because it
may be a mere fruitless illusion which would lead to
destruction.
There is something called human
rights, Dr. Ahmad. That is, a man has the right to be freely and
intellectually convinced to embrace the creeds he wants and to
worship God according to his own persuasion. The civilized
countries as well as the United Nations have acknowledged that,
ignoring of course, the command of your prophet: "Whoever
changes his faith, kill him!"
You said that the apostate spreads
viciousness in the land. Does the one who is converted to the
Christianity with its noble spiritual principles included in the
Gospel spread corruption on earth, or is it the one who holds to
Islam that kills those who change their faith? Christianity is
clearly manifest in the Gospel. It calls us to worship the one
God and it emphasizes love—even for our enemies. It calls for a
life of holiness and peace.
The Second Question
How Can
Muslims Deny the Compulsion of Force?
Most often Muslims who really desire to
know the truth and who believe that their faith respects man's
freedom, cite the Qur'anic phrase, "There is no compulsion in
faith" as an evidence to their claim. Those people do not know
its meaning as it was interpreted by the Muslim scholars. We
have already seen that Islam states that the apostate must be
killed, but in order to understand the meaning of "There is no
compulsion in faith," refer to the answers of the contemporary
and former scholars of Islam.
The Sheikh Muhammad Mutawilli
al-Sha'rawi
He is one of the most famous contemporary
scholars in Egypt. Millions of people in the Islamic world watch
his television programs as he constantly attacks Christianity.
He claims that Christians are infidels, and he stirs Muslims in
Egypt to attack Christian churches, burn them and kill the
infidels. Local Egyptian newspapers and magazines report this,
too. I have not met this man nor have I watched his program, but
I have read all of his books. In one of his famous books, "You
Ask and Islam Answers", I found the following (page 52 of part
2):
"Some ask: How does Islam say that
there is no compulsion in faith, and yet it commands the
killing of the apostate? We say to them: You are free to
believe or not to believe, but once you embrace the faith
you are not free (anymore) and you should be bound to Islam
otherwise you will suffer punishment and the restrictions,
among them is the killing of the apostate; that is, there is
no compulsion in embracing the faith but, if you do, you are
not free to relinquish it."
Sha'rawi's statement is in full
conformity with the law of killing the apostate. It acknowledges
the law and validates it. In his interpretation of this verse,
Ibn Hazm, al-Baydawi agrees fully with the Sha'rawi. A man (be
he a Christian or a Jew) is free to believe or disbelieve; that
is, he has the option either to accept Islam or to pay the poll
tax. If he is not religious, he is not free to choose another
religion, but must become a Muslim. Ibn Hazm remarks that:
"It was truly related to us that
Muhammad used to force the Arab pagans to embrace the faith.
He used to give them the option either to accept Islam or
death. That is forcing people to accept Islam (refer to Vol.
8, part 11, p. 196, "The Sweetened" Al Mohalla)."
What is of greatest significance to us in
the Sha'rawi's claim is that whoever believes in Islam does
not have freedom to relinquish it, otherwise he must be put
to death.
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