Islamic Scholars Debate If and When Apostates Should Die

Let both [believers and unbelievers] grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Matthew 13:30

            According to a recent news article^[i], on Wednesday of this week the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, a group within the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), appointed a committee of six to study if and when apostates should be executed for abandoning their Islamic faith.   Speaking in favor of religious liberty, Egyptian government minister Mahmood Zaqzouq maintained, "Religious freedom is a right that should be guaranteed to every human being."  Saudi religious law professor Muhammad al-Zujaimi, acknowledging the long standing tradition of killing apostates, rebutted, "[Human rights organizations] will never stop attacking Islam even if we were to agree to all their demands...We will never allow others to dictate our religion to us."

            The problem, of course, is that Muhammad's words are clear on this matter:  "If a Muslim changes his Islamic religion, kill him" (Bukhari Hadith 9.57).  And, the very next verses after his dictate describe the slaughter of an apostate Jew.  Additionally, Islamic history has, with few exceptions, supported the death penalty for apostates.  Presently, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and a host of other Islamic countries apply Muhammad's words on a weekly basis.  Muhammad, the "excellent exemplar" for Muslims (surah 33:21), was no democrat - he was a theocratic dictator who demanded strict conformity.

            The current debate within the Islamic community sheds light on the situation the world faces as Islam emerges as a world superpower.   Consider the following facts:

• The goal within the OIC, the emerging global voice for Muslims, is to speak uniformly on this issue.  When Muslim leadership affirms the literal words of Muhammad, which is a foregone conclusion, the slaughter of apostates will increase exponentially across the world.

• The committee of six are not only charged to accept (or, hypothetically, deny) the necessity of killing of infidels, they are also authorized to determine how quickly an apostate must die. More than likely, the rapidity of an apostate's death will also increase.

• As stated by the Saudi religious professor above, much of the Muslim leadership is under pressure by Western organizations to discard the traditional practice of killing the infidel.

Western politicians have a golden - yet  fleeting - opportunity here to halt the resurgence of traditional Islamic law and demand religious freedom for all individuals in Muslim-dominated countries.  Islam is undergoing its own renaissance, renewing the study of its original sources.  But unlike Christianity, whose acceptance in the literal interpretation of the Scripture led to democracy and religious liberty, a renewed study of the Qur'an and Hadith (sayings of Muhammad considered law in Islamic republics) will only create a world than is less free and more oppressive.  

Now is the time when the West will determine whether we believe that religious liberty is God-given or man-made.  If the former is true, than freedom is not merely American or Western - it is a universal principle based in the nature of God.  As such, it is our duty to herald freedom worldwide. We must not, under any circumstances, apologize for standing on such principles; to do so would be to admit that our Constitution, and its belief in the benevolent character of God, is fatally flawed and in need of revision or rejection.

It is time that an American leader rise up and declare, with utter boldness, our hope for freedom across the globe.  Like Ronald Reagan standing before the Berlin Wall demanding its destruction, American leaders who actually believe in our Constitution must demand the destruction of Islamic law, especially as it regards religious persecution.  To take the words from the mouth of President Reagan, we must stand before the Ka'aba and declare, "Mr. Muhammad, tear down this wall!"

^[i]Patrick Goodenough, "Islamic Scholars Wrestle With Death-For-Apostasy Issue," at http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=47401