Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam
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Overview
"Debate 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.Synopsis
Saeed and Saeed, whose fields are not cited, re-read the relevant foundation texts of Islam to show that the punishment of apostasy—abandoning Islam—by death cannot be justified by an appeal to the Qur'an or to the practice of the Prophet. They also place the punishment in the context of the current debate on human rights, particularly freedom of religion. Malaysia provides them a case study of how apostasy and the debate on its punishment are dealt with in a multi-religious Muslim majority society. They conclude that the punishment conflicts both with core Islamic values and with the needs of modern society. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR