Islam and Apostasy: Difference between revisions

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===Modern Muslims===
===Modern Muslims===


For almost 1,400 years, the punishment for apostasy has been death. Only recently has this been challenged, mainly by a few [[apologists]] from among the tiny 3% of the world's Muslims living in "more-developed regions".<ref>''"As of 2010, about three-quarters of the world’s Muslims (74.1%) live in the 49 countries in which Muslims make up a majority of the population. More than a fifth of all Muslims (23.3%) live in non-Muslim-majority countries in the developing world. About 3% of the world’s Muslims live in more-developed regions, such as Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan."'' - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.pewforum.org/The-Future-of-the-Global-Muslim-Population.aspx|2=2012-12-02}} The Future of the Global Muslim Population], The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, January 27, 2011</ref> A Pew poll released on December 2, 2010,  found that even today “The majority of Muslims would favor changing current laws in their countries to “allow stoning as punishment for adultery, hand amputation for theft, and death for those who convert from Islam as their religion”.<ref>Devonia Smith - [http://www.examiner.com/political-transcripts-in-national/pew-poll-most-muslims-favor-law-to-allow-islam-stoning-amputation-death Pew Poll: Most Muslims favor law to allow Islam stoning , amputation & death] - Examiner, December 8, 2010</ref><ref>Survey Reports - [http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/ Muslim Publics Divided on Hamas and Hezbollah] - Pew Research Center, December 2, 2010</ref>  
A Pew poll released on April 30, 2013 asked Muslims in 39 countries between 2008 and 2012 questions about religion, politics and society based on 38,000 face-to-face interviews. In one question, asked in 37 of these countries with a combined Muslim population of just over 1 billion people, the survey asked participants whether they favored or opposed the death penalty for leaving Islam. Using the complete dataset for this question on page 219 of the full report<ref>[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/04/worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-full-report.pdf The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society] Pew Research Centre, 30 April 2013, p.219 (responses by country to the question on apostasy)</ref>, and weighing the responses by Muslim population<ref>[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/01/FutureGlobalMuslimPopulation-WebPDF-Feb10.pdf Future Global Muslim Population] Pew Research Centre, 2011, pp.156-163 (Estimated Muslim population by country in 2010)</ref> indicates that overall, 40% of Muslims in these countries favour the death penalty for apostasy from Islam.


To give you an idea of the kind of figures we are dealing with, we will use Pakistan as an example; the 2010 poll found that 76% of Pakistanis agree apostates are to be killed. In a country with a population of 172,800,000<ref>[http://www.prb.org/pdf08/08WPDS_Eng.pdf 2008 World Population Data Sheet] - Population Reference Bureau</ref> (96% of whom are Muslim)<ref>[http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_religion.pdf Population By Religion] - Statistics Division, Government  of  Pakistan</ref> that would be 126,074,880 individuals in a single country. Conversely only a mere 13% of Muslims opposed killing apostates. If we are to assume the position that, Muslims who espouse such views are extremists who misunderstand the teachings of Islam, then we must also concede the fact that [[Are the Overwhelming Majority of Muslims Peaceful Moderates|the majority of Muslims in the world are extremists]]. They are not simply a fringe group.
The percentage was below 10% in Central Asia, Turkey and Balkan countries included in the survey. It was above 50% in Afghanistan (79%), Egypt (88%), Jordan (83%), Malaysia (58%), Pakistan (75%), Palestinian Territories (62%), and Djbouti (62%). It is possible that support for the penalty has fallen in the years since the survey was conducted due to worldwide distaste for the actions of ISIS and attempts to distance Islam from the actions of that group, and in Egypt following the negative experience of Muslim Brotherhood government.


So with all points considered, we can rightly conclude from religious texts, history and even modern Muslim opinion, that the ruling of Islam is to put apostates to death if they refuse to revert back to their Islamic faith. This ruling remains true even among the [[Shiite|Shi'ite]] sect,<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://formermuslimsunited.org/?page_id=2169|2=2011-10-04}} A Shiite Opinion on Apostasy] - Originally from Kayhan International, March 1986</ref>  whom together with the [[Sunni]]s constitute almost the entirety of the world's Muslim population.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm|2=2011-10-04}} Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam] - ReligionFacts, accessed October 4, 2011</ref><ref>Tracy Miller - [http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 2009</ref>
Note that a common mistake is made by commentators on this survey who don't read the full dataset at the end of the full report. In Chapter 1: Beliefs about Sharia, there is a table showing support for the death penalty for apostasy by those who answered that they were in favour of Sharia in their country in an earlier question. Multiplying the percentages in these two tables results in significantly lower, but incorrect conclusions compared to those mentioned above (Egypt, for example would appear to have 64% support for the penalty on this basis, and overall support in the countries surveyed would be approximately 35% after weighing by Muslim population).
 
However, this approach ignores support for the apostasy death penalty by those who answered that they do not support / don't know whether they support Sharia being the official law in their country, which surprisingly, makes a significant difference. Only the table on page 219 reveals support for the apostasy death penalty for all respondents in each country. This was confirmed by an independent analysis of the data and correspondance with Pew's Director of International Survey Research.<ref>[https://uncertaintyblog.com/2015/02/12/check-the-original-source-how-so-many-writers-got-the-facts-wrong-after-the-maher-vs-affleck-islam-debate/ Check the original source! How so many writers got the facts wrong after the Maher vs. Affleck Islam debate] [http://www.webcitation.org/6yi5XIFbb Archive]</ref>
 
Nevertheless, a strong correlation can be seen in the results for the two questions on support for Sharia and support for the death penalty for apostates.<ref>Survey Reports - [http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/#sharia-as-the-official-law-of-the-land The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society - Chapter 1: Beliefs about Sharia] - Pew Research Center, April 30, 2013</ref>
 
So with all points considered, we can rightly conclude from religious texts, history and even modern Muslim opinion in most of the countries with the strongest support for Sharia, that the ruling of Islam is to put apostates to death if they refuse to revert back to their Islamic faith. This ruling remains true even among the [[Shiite|Shi'ite]] sect,<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://formermuslimsunited.org/?page_id=2169|2=2011-10-04}} A Shiite Opinion on Apostasy] - Originally from Kayhan International, March 1986</ref>  whom together with the [[Sunni]]s constitute almost the entirety of the world's Muslim population.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm|2=2011-10-04}} Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam] - ReligionFacts, accessed October 4, 2011</ref><ref>Tracy Miller - [http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 2009</ref>
 
===Modern Scholars and Apologetics===
 
Some modern scholars ignore centuries of Islamic jurisprudence on the penalty for apostasy and instead interpret certain Qur'anic verses as allowing freedom of religion, including apostasy. They also argue that some apostates were allowed to live during Muhammad's lifetime, and point to a small number of early scholars who they claim supported less severe treatment of apostates. These interpretations and claims are disputed by traditionalists.
 
There is also a growing trend to instead interpret or contextualize hadiths and Qur'anic verses to mean that only those apostates who fought against the Muslims or gave support to their enemies were to be given the penalty. It is then regarded in these apologetics as a punishment for treason. Others claim that even talking openly about one's apostasy is an act of treason by undermining the foundation of the Islamic state, but that apostates who keep their beliefs private should be left alone.


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