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The Law of Apostasy in Islam Must Change
By Rev. Bassam M. Madany
Very early in the history of Islam, a radical position became solidified against anyonewho dared to go back on his or her Muslim faith. It had its origin in the defection of several Arab tribes from the Islamic Umma, soon after news about the death of Muhammad had reached them. In the summer of 632 A.D.,
 Abu Bakr 
, the first caliph,and father of the Prophet’s favorite wife,
 Aisha,
mounted military campaigns against therebels and forced them back into the fold of Islam.
 Abu Bakr’s
campaigns are known inArabic as
 Huroob al-Radda,
i.e. the wars against apostasy.Eventually, the Four Sunni Schools for the interpretation of the Shari’ah codified therules regarding the sin of apostasy (
radda
) and declared that, unless an apostate repents,he or she is to be punished with death. This harsh attitude towards Muslims who convertto other religions is based on the belief that Muhammad was Allah’s last messenger tomankind. To go back on Islam and renounce the
 Shahadah
(Islamic confession of theradical unity of Allah, and the Prophethood of Muhammad) is tantamount to committingthe unpardonable sin. Several Qur’anic verses can be adduced as a basis for this harshtreatment of the apostates, sufficient here is the following
ayah
from
 Surat 
 
 Aal ‘Imran,
aMedinan Chapter 3:85
"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the losers.” “Waman yabtaghi ghair’l Islami deenan, flan yuqbala minhu, wa Huwa fi’l akhirati mina’l khasireen.” 
This rigid and unbending attitude vis-à-vis Muslims who adopt the Christian faith is being discussed in the Arab online press. The following report appeared in the daily
 Aafaq
on 24 April, 2009:
“Religious Leaders in Algeria Are Demanding the Punishment 
 
of the Apostates” 
ملسا نع نيدترا ةبق وبطي رئازجا ف نيدا  
http://www.aafaq.org/news.aspx?id_news=8191
Here are excerpts from the report, followed by my comments.
“An Algerian policeman and his daughter announced that they have embraced Christianity. This news has precipitated a tremendous amount of discussions and arguments in Algeria, causing the religious authorities to demand that the policedepartment should dismiss him from his position, now that he has become a
 Murtadd (Apostate).
 
 
“The policemen explained to the Algerian newspaper 
al-Nahar 
that his previous life, asa Muslim, was filled with anxieties and a corresponding absence of peace of mind. He added that the radical Islamist movements that had massacred many women and children caused him to become fearful of Islam which he held responsible for thebloodshed. His life was caught up in a deep struggle that eventually led him to embraceChristianity which, according to him, “has given me peace of mind.”
 
“As to the daughter of the policeman, she explained that her reason for embracing Christianity was due to the fact that Islam treated women as maids and concubines, onlyto be sexually exploited by men. Muslim men regard women only from a physical point of view. Now, having adopted Christianity, she began to feel as a dignified human being. Her decision was final, and she does not regret it at all.
 
“The Algerian religious authorities reacted swiftly by declaring that a
 Murtad 
(Apostate)is now a
 Kafir 
(Unbeliever ;) and is subject to capital punishment, unless he or sherepents by returning to Islam.
 
“It is estimated that there are around 10,000 Christians most of them live in the Kabyledistrict of 
Tizi Ouzou.
Some unofficial sources claim that the number of Christians in Algeria is more than 100,000; they are to be found all over the country, especially in thewest of Algeria around the cities of 
Oran
and 
 Mostaganem,
most of these converts are young men and women. They claim that the reason that prompted them to embraceChristianity was Islam’s responsibility for murder, terror, and rape, as perpetrated by the Islamist groups who, in 1992 started their Jihad against civilians with the hope of  getting closer to Allah!”
[Reference in the above paragraph is to the annulment in 1992, by the MilitaryGovernment of the elections that were won by
FIS (Front Islamique du Salut,)
a
 Salafist 
organization. In response to the government’s action,
FIS 
declared
 Jihad 
and began its
 Irhab
against innocent civilians all over Algeria; the number of Algerians andforeigners killed during the civil war stands somewhere between 70,000 and 200,000]The Law of Apostasy in Islam needs to be thoroughly aired on a global basis. For the firsttime in history, a great number of Muslims reside outside
 Daru’l Islam.
They bring withthem their religious baggage, and act as if their 
 Shariah,
including the punishment of a
murtad 
(apostate,) should be enforced everywhere! Even though Western laws guaranteethe freedom of religion, many Muslims do not respect these laws when their relativesembrace Christianity. In fact most converts are persecuted severely, and are oftenthreatened with death. At the same time, these very Muslims engage in their 
 Da’wah,
calling Westerners to embrace Islam!There is a total lack of 
quid pro quo
in the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.On the one hand, no missionary activities may take place in
 Daru’l Islam;
and whenMuslims convert to Christianity, the Law of Apostasy is applied. On the other hand,Muslims see no inconsistency at all as they arrogate to themselves the right to propagateIslam wherever they have settled in the world!2
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