Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani is currently on death row in Iran for the "crime" of converting to Christianity from Islam. The charges of his initial arrest in 2009 were for protesting, which were later changed to apostasy and evangelism. In Sept. 2010, an Iranian court verbally delivered a death sentence, which was then delivered in writing a month later by the 1st Court of the Revolutionary Tribunal. After submitting an appeal to the Supreme Court the very next month, the third chamber of the Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence in June 2011 and the execution orders were given in Feb. 2012, which can be implemented at any time. Throughout the process, he was told his life would be spared if he recanted his belief in Christianity, which he refused to do.
This verdict clearly violates numerous human rights, which is why President Obama, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Amnesty International and the American Center for Law and Justice have all condemned this conviction and called for Nadarkhani's release.
As a Muslim, however, I find this verdict's religious violations equally troublesome. Far too many people -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- mistakenly believe Islam prohibits freedom of conscience and religion by prescribing punishments for matters like apostasy and blasphemy, whereas Islam's Holy Scripture and Prophet do not support such punishments.
If Islam prescribed any earthly punishment for leaving the faith, it would mean that it compels one to be Muslim against their will. But chapter two of the Quran -- Islam's Holy Scripture --rejects this notion, stating, "there shall be no compulsion in religion."
There are at least 10 direct verses in the Quran about those who leave Islam, none of which sanction death in response. Exemplifying the Quran's principles, the Prophet Muhammad never ordered any person to be killed for apostasy. In his peace treaty with Meccans, he agreed that any Muslim recanting their faith would be allowed to return to Mecca unharmed. Muhammad's acceptance of this condition demonstrates that no such punishment exists for apostasy, as he would never accept anything that went against the Shariah.
Yet some within the Muslim world argue these verses only apply to non-Muslims, whereas Muslims can be compelled in matters of religion. They cite examples during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad when Ibn Khatal, Musailmah and Maqees bin Sababah were put to death. These were not religious punishments for apostasy, however. They were political punishments for murders each individual had committed.
Death for apostasy had its birth several decades after the demise of Prophet Muhammad -- in an age when use of force for spreading influence and ideology was common around the world. The Ummayyad dynasty (661-750) -- the political rulers of the Muslim empire -- were regarded as secular kings and did not have the religious position of the previous pious caliphs. To guard the Sharia, the kings appointed clergy to positions much like the clergy after Constantine's conversion. Respected for their religious knowledge, their support was pursued to legitimize unpopular political regimes.
Political and social rebellions then became justified in religious expressions, and dynastic power struggles developed significant disagreements in religious doctrine. Thus began politically motivated punishments (including executions and crucifixions) aimed at abolishing any forms of objection.
While this view finds no credibility from Prophet Muhammad's example, it has admittedly become more prevalent in the last century. For example, Abul Ala Maududi, influential cleric and founder of the Pakistani political party Jamaat Islami, advocated this erroneous view beginning in the 1930s. He wrote, "in our domain we neither allow any Muslim to change his religion nor allow any other religion to propagate its faith."
Many believe Maududi's view was reactionary and in response to the growing influence of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad -- who claimed to be the second coming Jesus and Messiah for all people to remove misconceptions in religion, unite everyone under the banner of true Islam, and bring mankind back to God. Half a century before Maududi, Ahmad condemned any punishment for blasphemy or apostasy and any violence to spread faith. He wrote, "Religion is worth the name only so long as it is in consonance with reason. If it fails to satisfy that requisite, if it has to make up for its discomfiture in argument by handling the sword, it needs no other argument for its falsification. The sword it wields cuts its own throat before reaching others."
Sadly, apostasy and other "crimes" like blasphemy are punishable offences in some Muslim-majority countries today, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, etc. In these countries, apostasy and blasphemy are not only leveled against non-Muslims but even people the country deems to be the wrong type of Muslims.
The good news, however, is that though certain regimes apply extremist penal codes under the guise of Islam, the majority of Muslims recognize that Islam condemns religious compulsion. For example, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community -- Muslims who believe in that Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian -- has advocated this position for over a century. In this continuing war of ideas, true success is through peace and logic -- never violence.
Any attempt to compel Pastor Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith is barbaric and against the teachings of the Quran. The government leaders in Iran who have sentenced Pastor Nadarkhani to death, do so of their own accord. Quran and Prophet Muhammad, however, are clear -- Pastor Nadarkhani must be set free.
Follow Harris Zafar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Harris_Zafar
Gary Hart: The Plight of Youcef Nadarkhani
Youcef Nadarkhani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Full Story of Youcef Nadarkhani | Present Truth Ministries
Youcef Nadarkhani's case unites people around religious liberty ...
Youcef Nadarkhani Has Not Been Executed; ACLJ Denies Rumors ...
Iran to lynch Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani: Say nothing, do nothing ...
Qur'an 4:89
Qur'an 9:11-12
Qur'an 2:217
Qur'an 9:73-74
Qur'an 88:21
Qur'an 5:54
Qur'an 9:66
Now from the Hadith.
Bukhari (52:260)
Bukhari (83:37)
Bukhari (84:57)
Bukhari (89:271)
Bukhari (84:58)
Bukhari (84:64-65)
Abu Dawud (4346)
And from Islamic Law
Reliance of the Traveller (Islamic Law) o8.1 "When a person who has reached puberty and is sane voluntarily apostatizes from Islam, he deserves to be killed." (o8.4 affirms that there is no penalty for killing an apostate).
Here's another brain-twister: The author refers to the four rightly guided caliphs (the successors to Mohammed) as "pious". Yet they famously invaded and conquered non-Muslim lands (Syria and Persia) when those nations proved unwilling to convert. This "no compulsion in religion" seems to have plenty of exceptions!
The idea that the lowly Arabs would just decide to spontaneously invade the two most powerful empires in the world simultaneously is laughable and nothing but pure fantasy. The Arabs were far outnumbered, out-equipped, and out-experienced by each individually, let alone both of these empires. And don't forget that they were dealing with multiple insurrections at home during this time period.
I would suggest you learn the facts of history instead of relying on anti-Islamic propaganda.
Your post brings us to the question how should we deal with contradictory evidence from the scriptures and hadith. Abrogation is an important concept in quran where commandments are given in stages and religious law rewrites iself..
A proof of abrogation:
http://www.sunnipath.com/library/books/B0040P0021.aspx
When the message of Islam was presented to the Arabs as something new, and different from their way of life, it was introduced in stages. The Qur'an brought important changes gradually, to allow the people to adjust to the new prescriptions.
Example:
There are three verses in the Qur'an concerning the drinking of wine. Wine drinking was very widespread in pre-Islamic times and, although a social evil, highly esteemed. The three verses which finally led to the prohibition of intoxicating substances were revealed in stages (4: 43, 2: 219; 5: 93-4).
Islam Fundamentals
http://islamfundamentals.com/2009/05/15/there-is-no-compulsion-in-religion/
Question: Some friends say that whoever does not enter Islam, that is his choice and he should not be forced to become Muslim, quoting as evidence the verses in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“There is no compulsion in religion”
[al-Baqarah 2:256]
Answer: Other scholars said that this applied in the beginning, but was subsequently abrogated by Allaah’s command to fight and wage jihad. So whoever refuses to enter Islam should be fought when the Muslims are able to fight, until they either enter Islam or pay the jizyah if they are among the people who may pay jizyah. The kuffaar should be compelled to enter Islam if they are not people from whom the jizyah may be taken, because that will lead to their happiness and salvation in this world and in the Hereafter.
[al-Tawbah 9:5] This verse is known as Ayat al-Sayf (the verse of the sword). These and similar verses abrogate the verses which say that there is no compulsion to become Muslim.
-So you want to say that the prophet was not following quran! maybe he misunderstood it like is claimed by many now a days? I don't think so. There are different rules that apply to non mslms than to those who were mslms and apostate. It is clear from what Bukhari documented that death is the punishment for apostasy. And these hadiths are %100 correct and followed by the ummah.
I find it fascinating that some non-Muslims feel the need to tell Muslims how to interpret their tradition, especially when they interpret in ways that emphasize tolerance and humanity. Such voices seem simply to want to prove that it okay to hate Muslims. Oddly they end up taking the side of the most conservative and intolerant voices in my community.
Peace/Salaams/Shalom
From the clear Quranic statement referred to above --- “There should be no compulsion in religion” --- we have to infer that accepting or leaving the faith of Islam is every individual’s right, one that can have no negative repercussions. (Alas! The mullahs and vested interests know very well that broadcasting such a notion will eviscerate them of their power over the masses, and they rave, rant, and obfuscate the discussion any way they can!) I hope that writers like Mr. Zafar can spread the light of truth and reason to those lands where demagogues now hold sway.
I have found the website alislam.org to be a treasure-trove of information on Islam and other faiths, and I invite fellow knowledge-seekers to visit it. I join thousands in seeking the release of Pastor Nadarkhani and all prisoners of conscience worldwide.
Peace to all!
In all seriousness, you are telling the wrong cats. The problem is that your argument is losing in the ulema, and that's where it counts
- But he did on several occasions.
Bukhari (52:260) - "...The Prophet said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' "
Bukhari (84:57) - "[In the words of] Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"
Bukhari (89:271) - A man who embraces Islam, then reverts to Judaism is to be killed according to "the verdict of Allah and his apostle."
Bukhari (84:58) - "There was a fettered man beside Abu Muisa. Mu'adh asked, 'Who is this (man)?' Abu Muisa said, 'He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back to Judaism.' Then Abu Muisa requested Mu'adh to sit down but Mu'adh said, 'I will not sit down till he has been killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Apostle (for such cases) and repeated it thrice.' Then Abu Musa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Abu Musa added, 'Then we discussed the night prayers'"
Bukhari (84:64-65) - "Allah's Apostle: 'During the last days there will appear some young foolish people who will say the best words but their faith will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have no faith) and will go out from (leave) their religion as an arrow goes out of the game. So, wherever you find them, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection.'"
If you know Islam you should know this that if any Hadith goes against the Quran it is rejected.
Alternatively, the hadiths are in fact true statements of Mohammed -- in which case, what does that say about Mohammed's character?
Sincerely,
Mrs. Pat Dore
Muslims are on *very* thin ice when they disagree with the hadith and sunnah.
The quran also doesn't prescribe the five daily prayers.
the sunnah is also is also free from it, Muhammad (peace be upon him ) never killed or had killed any one for apostasy. The five daily prayers are something that can be traced back to the practice of the prophet that was imitated by his companions, and handed down from generation to generation, people to people, a practical tradition similar to the way oral traditions are spread.
Death for apostasy by contrast is something that was first instigated by the Ummayyad dynasty about 200 years after the prophet for political reasons. Much of the formation of Islamic law during this period saw apostasy synonymous to high treason. The collections of hadith also largely around this period regarding death for apostasy have been sufficiently challenged both academically as well as by theologians. More over the very fact that they contradict Quranic teachings is enough reason to discard them.
Modern Muslims who've accepted modern values like not killing others when they commit adultery or change religions just can't bear to accept these things Muhammad did so they begin questioning hadith.
Peace/Salaams/shalom
http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com/
Peace/salaams/shalom
During its reading, I remembered the days at the University when we studied Islam and I especially remember learning about the Prophet Muhammad.
He would be appalled to find the Qur'an misinterpreted as by fundamentalists. The Prophet was not against women as is being proselytized today. He was married and asked his wife's permission before he left her to journey. The first action the Prophet took was to make peace with Christians and Jews. Muslims respect Jesus ... they see him as a prophet.
Oh yes, he was illiterate and dictated the Qur'an to a Scribe.
Thanks again. We need to learn more about Islam from those who know.
"Those who know" Ahmaddis are the Mormons of Islam.