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But the fact that both Islam and Hinduism are based on divine revelation and in essence both worship the Supreme Being is generally ignored. The foundation of Hinduism is the Vedas comprising of different scriptures revealed to Rishis (prophets) over a long period of time. Islam is also based on the Quran which is a reminder of the messages and commandments revealed to prophet before Muhammad pbuh. The Vedas and the Upanishads sing the glory of the Supreme Being (Nirgun Brahman), the Formless God, the Creator of all. The Mundakya Upanishad VI says:
“He is the lord of all. He is the knower of al. He is the inner Controller. He is the source of everything from Him all beings originate and in the end disappear into Him.”

 Vedanta is the theoretical and philosophical part of the Vedas which deals with the Creation and knowledge of the Supreme Being (Brahman). Different parts of the Vedas are ascribed to different Rishis or prophets to whom that part was revealed. About the revelation of the Vedas, Swami Vivekananda has said:
“When you hear that the Rishi (sage) of such and such portion of the Vedas is such and such, do not think that he has written that portion or has created that portion through his own imagination. He is merely a discoverer of the knowledge already existent. That knowledge was latent in this universe since infinity. The Rishi only discovered that knowledge.” 1

From the extract above, it is evident that Hindus do not use the word revelation for the Vedas but believe that the Vedas are not authored by human beings and are divine knowledge revealed to prophets (Rishis) by the Supreme Being, the Brahman.

God in Hinduism and Islam
Hinduism has two concepts of the Supreme Being: Sagun Brahman (Personal God) and Nirgun Brahman (Formless God). Since the ultimate realization of the Supreme Being can be achieved through meditation, the spiritual adept needs to meditate on God by concentrating on Him. To achieve this concentration he needs to conjure the image of a personal God (Sagun Brahman). This concentration on Sagun Brahman leads him to the realization of Nirgun Brahman or the Supreme Being. This concept of Sagun Brahman or personal God represented by an image or idol gave way to idol worship. Initially, this concept of Sagun Brahman was only used by spiritual adepts to acquire concentration but gradually it became common practice and people began to worship idols and idol worship became central to Hinduism. The same can be said about Islam. Many un-Islamic practices have crept in among Muslims which are called Bid’at (innovation) due to wrong or erroneous interpretations of Islamic principles or Quranic verses.

The concept of Sagun Brahman and Nirgun Brahman can also be found in the Quran. The Quran at one point says:
“Nature of God is that upon which He is created man”. (Al Rum: 30)

Here the Quran gives an idea of a personal God (Sagun Brahman). In another verse the Quran says:
“No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things “(Al An’am:103)

Here the Quran gives an idea of Nirgun Brahman who is subtle and formless. However, Islam did not permit the creation of the image of Sagun Brahman. That’s why idol worship did not originate in Islam.

This idea of Fitratallah (Nature of God) helps Sufis to concentrate on God. The Vedanta has three stages of meditation according to degree of concentration and duration of meditation; Dhaaran, Dhyan and Samadhi. The Quran also mentions three stages of realization of truth which comes with deep meditations: Aynal Yaqin, Ilmul Yaqin and Haqqul Yaqin. Indian Sufis took some practices from Vedanta and Hindu scriptures to develop physical and mental faculties that helped them attain greater concentration during meditation.  Especially Shattari order introduced Hindu meditation practices into Sufi order. The practices of the Nath Panth, the founder of the Yoga influenced Indian Sufi practices.

Sufism has borrowed a lot from the Advaita philosophy of Vedanta. Non-Dualist philosophy of Vedanta (Advaita Vedanta) gave birth to the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajood among Muslims. The greatest exponent of this philosophy was Ibn-e-Arabi who had read  Bahrul Hayat, an Arabic translation of the Vedantic treatise in Sanskrit called Amrul Kund. The philosophy of Wahdat ul Wujud also preached that only God was real (Wajib ul Wajud) and all the universe including man was only a reflection of the Supreme Being. All creation emanated from him and was a part of God. For example, the waves of an ocean do not have any independent existence out of the ocean. In the same way, man or the universe did not have any independent existence out of God. God is imminent in the universe or is all encompassing.

Though Iqbal was against the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajud since he considered this philosophy against the principles of Islam, he did not criticize Ibn-e-Arabi because Ibn-e-Arabi brought his arguments in favour of the philosophy from the Quran. The attributional names of God —– Zahir, Batin, Awwal, Akhir, and so on describe the all pervasive nature of God. Whatever is manifest is God and whatever is hidden or within the creations is God. This concept is in line with the concept of Advaita Vedanta which is summed up in the four Mahavakyas (great statements) of the Upanishad.

1)    Aham Brahmasmi (I am God). This can be translated as Anal Haque.
2)     Tat twam asi . Thou art That.
3)    Ayam Atma Brahma.  This indwelling self is Brahman.
4)    Praganam Brahma —— Supreme Knowledge is Brahman.

Thus, Brahman (the Supreme Being) dwells within man and he can attain His knowledge through devotion and meditation.
In Sufism too, Marfat (divine knowledge of the Supreme Being) is attained through meditation and devotion.
 
God Is Light
God, the Supreme Being, is described as light in the Upanishads. His light shines everywhere and lights up the universe as well as the inner soul of man. K.P. Aleaz writes:
 
“The Supreme Lord (Parameshvara) is the self-effulgent self (Svayamjyotiratmaiva) and self-effulgent means ‘being’ – Pure Consciousness. The manifestation noticed in the case of all these names, forms, actions and results is caused by the existence of the Light of Brahman. The light of Brahman is implied by the light seen in things born from it.  Through the various kinds of effulgence in the effects, it is known that luminosity is intrinsic to Brahman. Whatever, things shine —- the sun, moon, stars, lightning fore etc — shine because the Supreme Lord shines.”  2 Now, let’s find out similar concept about God in the Quran. The Quran says, “Allahu Noorus Samawate Wal Arz’. God is the light of the earth and heavens. (Al Nur: 35) It is a long verse and echoes the views present in Vedanta about God as light and His reflection in man and the universe. Another sentence in the same verse says:
 
Noor un ala Nur (Light upon Light).
The exegetes of the holy Quran have not been able to give satisfactory or acceptable explanations of this beautiful verse in figurative and symbolic language. But when we study the verse in the light of the Bhagavad Gita, the meaning of the Quranic verse becomes crystal clear. ‘Light upon Light’ is ‘Light united to Light’ in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. When the spiritual adept or Sufi attains union with the Supreme Being, Light present within man is united with Light of Brahman. Swami Mumukshananda in his article “Vedanta Concepts and Application through ‘light united to light’ in the light of Advaita philosophy in the following words:
 
“ That meditation on God (Sagun Brahman)gradually leads to the realization of Absolute (Nirgun Brahman) is supported in both the Srimad Bhagvatam and the Bhagavad Gita. In the former Shri Krishna tells Uddhav how by starting his meditation on God with form a devotee can realize  God as Pure Consciousness simultaneously present within him and all pervading — as “Light united to light.” In the Bhagavad Gita (XVIII.55) Sri Krishna says to Arjun,, “Through devotion (the devotee) knows Me in reality as to what  and who I am. Then having known Me in truth, he enters (Me).3
 
In Islamic Sufism governed by the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajud as in Advaita Vedanta, the spiritual adept unites with God through devotion and meditation. Thus Light is united to Light.
 
The divine light within the Sufi unites with the Supreme Light. The light present inside the devotee is engulfed by the Light of the Supreme self effulgent; all pervasive Being like a candle is guarded by the Fanoos.
 
Harut and Marut
The Quran mentions the names of two angels called Harut and Marut who possessed the knowledge of sorcery and magic and taught knowledge to those who wanted to learn sorcery and magic only as a test of their faith.  In Hinduism, spiritual adepts invoke Marut, one of the angels to attain supernatural powers to work out miracles and do superhuman deeds. The disciples of Shiva, the re-incarnation of Brahma taught Matsyendranath, the founder of Nath Panth the knowledge of attaining supernatural powers. The Yogis of the Nath Pantha had supernatural powers through the practice of Raja Yoga. A Shloka in Matsyendra Samhita is as follows:
 
Agni Marut Sanyogad Varuna Karmayogatah
Sansiddhi Yogino Dehe Chidme Tat Pradrishyate 4
 
The sixth Patal (part) of Matsyendra Samhita says that the concentration of mind is of three kinds. One kind of concentration is achieved through concentration on Agni (fire) in association with Marut which leads to achievement of perfect body free from diseases and feeling of hunger, thirst etc. In Upanishads also, a number of hymns are addressed to Maruts. On hymn addressed to Maruts in Rig Veda is as follows:
HYMN XIX. Agni, Maruts.

To this fair sacrifice to drink the milky draught thou art invoked:
O Agni, with the Maruts come.

No mortal man, no God exceeds thy mental power, O Mighty one –
O Agni, with the Maruts come

All Gods devoid of guile, who know the mighty region of mid-air:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

The terrible, who sing their song, not to be overcome by might:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Brilliant, and awful in their form, mighty, devourers of their foes’:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who sit as Deities in heaven, above the sky-vault’s luminous sphere:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who scatter clouds about the sky, away over the billowy sea:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who with their bright beams spread them forth over the ocean in their might
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

For thee, to be thine early draught, I pour the Soma-mingled meath:
O Agni, with the Maruts com
(Rig-Veda)

However, in the Vedas, the Maruts are presented as powerful deities that bring storm and rains and are very aggressive. In the Quran, Harut and Marut are mentioned in Surah Baqarah verse no. 102 as angels who were sent down on earth with the knowledge of sorcery and magic.

Zikr or Jap
Zikr or Jap of the Supreme Being or God is an important part of the spiritual practices of followers of both Hinduism and Islam. Without Zikr or jap one cannot move towards union with God. The Quran enjoins on man to engage in Zikr continuously to attain God’s blessings. There are a number of verses in the Quran to this effect. Some are quoted below:

1)    “Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; “ ( Al A’raf: 205)
2)    “and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise,- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.”(Al Ahzab: 35)
3)   ” The remembrance of Allah (swt) is the greatest (deed)”. Quran (Al Ankabut : Verse 45)

According to the verses of the Quran, Zikr is of two kinds:  One which is done aloud and the other which is done in a low voice.  In Sufism, there is another category of Zikr which is called Sultan ul Azkar. In this Zikr, the Sufi does not chant the names of God aloud or in a low voice but the heart continuously and automatically does the chanting. This Zikr is achieved through strict spiritual discipline and devotion. In Hinduism also, the Jap or Zikr is of three kinds.  Bhaskaranand explains the three kinds of Japa in the following words:
“Chanting the holy name or Japa is done in several ways. When it is done audibly by pronouncing the holy name correctly it is called Vachika Japa. When the chanting is done by moving the lips in such a manner that it can be heard only by the chanter and no one else, it is called Apamshu Japa. In the third type of chanting the holy name is repeated mentally without moving the tongue or the lips. This type of silent chanting is called Manasa Jap. Among these, the third one is considered superior to the second and the second is superior to the first.”5
 
In Hinduism, the devotees or spiritual adepts are also described in different ways according to their attitude to God. The following attitudes are found in Hindu devotees.
 
1)    Shanta attitude – In this attitude, the devotee does not show an intense love for God but he is steady in his devotion to God doing whatever is prescribed to achieve God’s pleasure.
2)    Dasya or serving attitude —- In this attitude, the devote considers himself a servant and God as the Master and obeys what God enjoins him to do. In this relation, a distance is maintained between the servant and the Master.
3)    Sakhya or friendly attitude — In this attitude, the devotee considers God as his friend and expects reciprocation of his love and affection showered on God.
4)    Vatsalya or motherly attitude – In this attitude, the devotees’ looks upon God as his child and showers love and affection like a mother.
5)    Madhura attitude – In this attitude the devotee looks upon God as his husband and considers himself as his wife.  The Bhakti poets come under this category as they celebrate the love of Radha and Krishna in their love for God. They consider God Krishna and himself as Radha.
 
In Islamic spirituality too, Sufis adopt similar attitude towards God. But more common are serving and friendly attitudes.  Generally devotees have Master-servant relationship with God and maintain a distance.  Great Sufis attain the relationship of friendship with God. The Quran recognizes them as Auliya or the friends of God.
 
Prophets and Divine Incarnations
Islam believes in prophets who were raised from among human kind for the social and religious reforms. They spoke the language of the community to which they were raised. Islam believes that one Lakh 24 thousand prophets were sent down on earth. But Hinduism believes that God incarnates Himself on earth to revitalize religion. He is called an Avatara or a divine incarnation. The Srimad Bhagavad speaks of innumerable divine incarnations. Here, Srimada Bhagvatam corroborates Islamic view of many prophets. But Islam does not consider the prophets as incarnations of God but consider them human beings and servants of God. The Vedas also call the prophets Rishis or sages. The Vedas did not call them divine incarnations. However, in later ages, the Rishis were called Adhikari Purusha, men endowed with superhuman powers. The theory of divine incarnation has been explained by Swami Bhaskaranand in the following words:
 
“God incarnates on earth to fulfill two purposes: (1) to inspire (2) to liberate.  He inspires mankind through examples. He willingly takes upon Himself human limitations. Then through intense spiritual practice, He goes beyond them and manifests his spiritual perfections. It should be understood here that as He is perfect from his very birth, the divine incarnation does not really need any spiritual practice to attain perfection. Nevertheless, to inspire others, He goes through various spiritual disciplines and thereby manifests His perfection to set an example for man king.” 6
 
The above extract explains the phenomenon of the birth of Jesus Christ without father and his subsequent ascent to the Heavens instead of his meeting with natural or unnatural death on earth like a human being. This also explains why a section of Muslims consider Prophet Muhammad pbuh a divine (Nuri) being and not a human being (basher).
 
Idea of Mental and Physical Purification
Islam lays stress on physical and mental purification. Physical purification can be achieved through bath with water in a prescribed manner. In the absence of water, Tayammum can also be used for purification. In this process one can rub his hands on a lump of soil and then rubbing the hands on the body in the prescribed way. For ablutions also, water or soil can be used in a prescribed manner. Uttering prescribed prayers while doing Wazu wins greater rewards.

But centuries before Islam’s advent, Hinduism laid stress on physical purification by bathing the body with water. In absence of water, the body could be purified by smearing ashes over the body. Matsyendra Samhita describes the process of purification of body in following words:
 
“The purification of body can be achieved by taking bath in water or with smearing of ashes on body. Detailed description of the actual mode of taking bath has been given. Lord Shiva tells her (Parvati) that bath should be taken in prescribed manner. Different kind of mantras have been suggested which are requested to be uttered at the time of pouring water on the different limbs of the body.”  7
 
Suicide
Killing oneself is declared Haram (a great sin) in Islam and those committing suicide will be made to go through severe punishment in the Hereafter. They will be made to commit the suicide in the same way again and again suffering the same pain which they went through while committing suicide. The unnatural death hounds the man in other world and inflicts more pain and suffering. On this count, Hinduism and Islam have almost the same view on suicide.
 
Beej Akshar and Haroof-E-Muqatta’at
The Quran has many Haroof-e-Muqatta’at in the beginning of 29 Surahs. These letters are said to be possessing great powers. Hinduism also has many Beej Akshars (seed words) that have great powers. One seed word is ‘AUM’. Other seed words are Shreem, Hreem, Kreem, Aim, Dum, Hum and Om Namah Shivaya.
 
These were some of the similarities in belief and practices in Hinduism and Islam. Since Vedas are the basis of Hinduism which are revealed scriptures, it has many tenets in common with Islam. Since the Quran enjoins on us to stress on the common tenets of different religions to promote multi-religious harmony in the world, a more in-depth study of the similarities between Hinduism and Islam may reveal more striking facts. This brief study is only a small step towards promoting interfaith dialogue.

References:
1.    Vedanta by Swami Vivekananda
2.    (Vedanta concepts and Application, Ramakrishna Mission Institute, Kolkata)
3.    (Vedanta; Concepts and Application)
4.    Matsyendra Samhita
5.    (Essentials of Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)
6.    (Essentials of Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)
7.    (Matsyendra Samhita. Page 47)
 
Courtesy: New Age Islam
 

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As he poured holy water from a brass pitcher over their feet, wiped them clean and kissed them, several of the migrants were moved to tears.

The gesture is particularly significant in view of the growing anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant sentiment across the West and which has been fuelled further by the terror attack in Brussels.

The Holy Thursday ritual commemorating Jesus washing the feet of his apostles before being crucified symbolises the spirit of service towards humanity.  The Pope performed his service during the Easter Week Mass with asylum-seekers provided shelter in Castelnuovo di Porto, near Rome city.

The Pope contrasted his own gesture with the “gesture of war” and “gesture of destruction” perpetrated by the blood-thirsty terrorists. He added that the terror acts were aimed at destroying the brotherhood of all humanity which the plight of the migrants invokes.

“We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace,” said the pontiff.

The Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who became Pope Francis in March 2013, is the first non-European to be elevated to the high office in over 1,300 years. And in his short stint as head of the Roman Catholic Church, he has repeatedly shown that he is a Pope with a difference.

Before him, the feet-washing ritual was performed on 12 men, all Catholic. But within weeks of his 2013 election, he shocked many followers by performing the ritual on women and Muslims at a juvenile detention centre.

Four women and eight men took part in the event on Thursday. The women included an Italian Catholic who works at the centre and three Eritrean Coptic Christian migrants. The men included four Catholics from Nigeria, three Muslims from Mali, Syria and Pakistan and a Hindu man from India.

Pope Francis’ definition of the “people of God” clearly includes everyone.

“All of us, together: Muslims, Hindi, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals, but brothers, children of the same God,” he said. “We want to live in peace, integrated.”

In June 2013, the Pope stunned his followers and the world at large with his remark, “If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” We shouldn't marginalise people for this. They must be integrated into society, he said. Just months before then his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI had suggested that gay marriage was a threat to global peace.

The Pope believes that economic inequality is the world’s “No. 1 problem” and that capitalism is at the center of all problems of inequality.

He is no less outspoken on the issue of war and peace. “Jesus is weeping today, too, because we have preferred the path of war, the path of hatred, the path of enmity,” the “commander-in-chief” of 1.2 billion Catholics across the globe said in November 2015 during the Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae where he lives.

Choosing war, he said, is like saying, “‘Let’s make weapons, that way we can balance the budget a bit and move our own interests forward.’ The Lord has strong words for those people: ‘Be cursed!’ He said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Those who decide for war, who make wars, are cursed; they are criminals.”

While arms sellers around the world are getting rich, the Pope said, peacemakers are humbly helping people one at a time.

In September 2015, the pontiff issued an appeal to people of “all religions” to come forward and offer shelter to the refugees from war-ravaged Syria and elsewhere. “May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family,” he said and announced that the Vatican would do its bit by extending help to two families at its parishes.

In February this year, Pope Francis suggested that the Republican aspirant in the American presidential race, Donald Trump was “not a Christian”. The New York Times reported him as stating: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” The statement was in response to a reporter who asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.

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A British Army man loses his leg in Iraq but not his heart and mind

Chris Herbert, who served in the British Army in Basra, Iraq, lost his right leg when a bomb went off next to his Land Rover in 2007. One of his comrades, Private Luke Simpson, died in the attack, while two other soldiers were also injured.
He told those holding the entire Muslim faith responsible for terrorism to:

“Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work.”
“Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg,” he wrote. “A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Uniform.
“A Muslim medic was in the helicopter that took me from the field. A Muslim surgeon performed the surgery that saved my life.
“A Muslim Nurse was part of the team that helped me when I returned to the UK.
“A Muslim Healthcare Assistant was part of the team that sorted out my day to day needs in rehabilitation when I was learning to walk.
“A Muslim taxi driver gave me a free ride the first time I went for a beer with my Dad after I came home.
“A Muslim doctor offered my Dad comfort and advice in a pub, when he didn’t know how to deal with my medicines and side effects.”

One man’s voice and grateful heart can make a difference on this planet and Chris Herbert is demonstrating this. Herbert, who lives in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, said he took the decision to speak out after an “Islamophobic group tried to recruit” him as a poster boy for their organization.
 

(Excerpted from an article, ‘Trump Represents the Ugly Face of American Politics’, published in Tikkun ezine; http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/25923)

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In a decision that is sure to rattle the Israeli government, the pension board of the United Methodist Church which has seven million members in the US has blacklisted five Israeli banks for human rights violations. According to a statement issued by the Board on Tuesday, the banks knocked off its investment portfolio are guilty of financing settlement construction in Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel.

Pro-Palestine voices within and outside the Church have hailed the boycott decision as a major step forward in the Boycott, Divest and Sanction campaign (BDS), an international effort to pressureise economically over the Palestinian issue. Meanwhile, a section among the church members are opposed to the divestment campaign and also claim that in any case the church remains invested in other Israeli companies. M. Colette Nies, a spokeswoman for the pension board stated that pension fund remains invested in “approximately 18 Israeli companies that meet our investment criteria.”
The excluded banks are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank. Also blacklisted is an Israeli construction concern, Shikun & Binui, which is heavily involved in settlement construction.

The Israeli banks on the United Methodist Church’s black list are among 39 companies from several countries that have been excluded from the pension board’s portfolio for not meeting its Human Rights Investment Policy guideline adopted in 2014.

The pension board’s decision is in sync with other American church groups among whom divestment is gaining momentum. Liberal Protestants see the divestment movement as a tool to pressure Israel over its policies toward Palestinians. In July 2015, the United Church of Christ voted to divest from companies with business in the Israeli-occupied territories. The Presbyterian Church (USA) had voted similarly in 2014.

While there was no immediate comment from Israeli officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sees the divestment movement as a campaign to destroy Israel. The Israeli government invests a lot of time and resources in combating the decision of academic institutions, businesses and church organizations to divest from Israeli companies over the issue of Israeli settlements and the occupation of Palestinian lands.

Among the first to welcome the pension board’s decision was Tikkun magazine, the largest circulation voice of liberal and progressive Jews (and the winner of the Best Magazine of the Year Award from the Religion Newswriters Association in both 2014 and 2015)  

The magazine issued a statement stating, “Although we at Tikkun do NOT support a general boycott of Israel, and wish to see Israel remain strong and its security intact, we welcome the action of the United Methodist Church Pension Fund. The action of the UMC Pension Fund is narrowly focused on boycotting and divesting from Israeli and other firms that help perpetuate Israel’s Occupation of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the construction of “Jewish-only” settlements. The Occupation of the West Bank with its attendant oppression of the Palestinian people is not only a violation of the highest values of the Jewish people, it is also the Israeli activity that most threatens to turn Israel into a pariah state and thereby weaken its ability to protect its citizens from the real threats it may face from surrounding hostile powers and forces. For that reason, we support all efforts to boycott the products produced on the West Bank in Israeli “Jewish only” settlements and to disinvest from Israeli and global corporations and institutions that help make the Occupation possible. The Jewish people in centuries to come will thank those friends of Israel, like the United Methodists, Presbyterians USA, and the United Church of Christ, who are doing all they can to reverse Israel’s self-destructive policies in the West Bank while distancing from the BDS movement that aims not only at the Occupation of the West Bank but at the totality of Israel and the Israeli people.”

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Freedom of faith is essential to Islam. Prophets and messengers of Allah along with their communities had to struggle for their freedom of faith. That Islam is by choice is unambiguously stated in the Koran and reflected in the prophetic legacy. However, throughout history the issue has been clouded due to mixing the issue of apostasy with treason. Now one of the biggest tools of anti-Islam/anti-Muslim propaganda is based on the issue of apostasy, claiming that Islam does not uphold the freedom of faith. Even our own children are getting confused and many are quietly disavowing our wishy-washy position on as fundamental an issue as freedom of faith/religion.

Undeniably, the traditional position of Muslim scholars and jurists has been that apostasy (riddah) is punishable by death. The long-standing problem of the traditional position, as held by classical jurists or scholars, can be explained and excused as not being able to see apostasy, an issue of pure freedom of faith and conscience, separate from treason against the community or the state. However, the accumulated experience in history in terms of abuse of this position on apostasy, even against Muslims, as well as the changed context of a globally connected pluralistic society, should help us appreciate the contemporary challenges in light of Koranic norms and the prophetic legacy. In this context, while the classical misunderstanding about this issue of apostasy is excusable, the position of some well known contemporary scholars is not.

Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi (commonly known as Maulana Maududi), the late founder and leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and a leading independent revivalist Islamic personality of the 20th century, is frequently referred to for his ardent argument for capital punishment for apostasy. He argued that there is a broad agreement of the leading jurists on this issue. He claims:

"To copy the consecutive writings of all the lawyers from the first to the 14th century AH would make our discussion very long. Yet we cannot avoid mentioning that however much the four schools of law may differ among themselves regarding the various aspects of this problem, in any case all four schools without doubt agree on the point that the punishment of the apostate is execution" ("The Punishment of the Apostate According to Islamic Law").

Such a sweeping claim is misplaced because the alleged agreement is about apostasy-cum-treason, not solely about apostasy. Furthermore, any claim of consensus (ijma) on almost anything should be taken with a great deal of circumspection.

Another well known Muslim scholar and jurist of our time whom I also generally hold in high regard is Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. He asserts: "The duty of the Muslim community – in order to preserve its identity – is to combat apostasy in all its forms and wherefrom it comes, giving it no chance to pervade in the Muslim world." Similar to Maulana Maududi, he also claims ijma on this: "That is why the Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished… apostasy is a criminal act" ("Apostasy: Major and Minor").

Dr Al-Qaradawi also fails to separate apostasy from treason. It is unfortunate that such scholars of high repute have shown such serious lapse in recognising that, as Dr Irfan Ahmad Khan, a scholar and Koranic exegete, argues: "Freedom of faith and religion is meaningless without the freedom to change one’s faith."

Then there are also scholars, even in the USA, who are either wishy-washy or ambivalent in regard to their positions. Some are too beholden to the traditional views held in the past, right or wrong. Views and positions of scholars and leaders such as Maududi and Al-Qaradawi not only provide powerful ammunition for propaganda against Islam and Muslims but also confound the mind of our own community, including our youth, whose discerning mind sees through the double standard or self-contradiction quite transparently.

While many contemporary Muslim scholars have expressed their views affirming the freedom of faith, the collective voice of Muslims is still feeble and little known. In this write-up we have collated opinions and positions of various Muslim scholars, academics, intellectuals, imams, professionals, community leaders and others on this issue. Even young students are speaking up against the double standard that contradicts Islamic values and principles.

These voices, representing a broad spectrum of the Muslim community/ummah, are tipping the scale of the discourse on this issue in favour of affirming and upholding the pristine Islamic principle of freedom of faith. It also debunks the claim of unanimity, which was not quite true in the past and is even less true in the present.

Views of some of the early scholars might not be categorical or without variant reports. However, the excerpts included can be a basis for identifying them as precursors of the contemporary views on this issue. There are (or have been) many scholars, early and contemporary, who hold that in case of apostasy capital punishment is not warranted but have sanctioned or kept open the possibility of other punishments. Their views have not been included here. There are also scholars who believe that punishment of apostasy is not hadd (mandatory, specified punishment based on the Koran or Sunnah) but it is subject to ta’zir (discretionary punishment determined by the proper Islamic judicial system). In this collection, these views have not been included either.

Below we present a unique compilation of notable Islamic voices who have expressed their views on punishment of apostasy in Islam.

We will continue to update this collection. If you know of anyone whose publicly articulated position is missing from this compilation, please let us know (with relevant citation).

Hadrat Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz
(d. 97 AH/ 720 AD)
Popularly known as Umar II and regarded as part of the Khulafa-i-Rashidoon (rightly guided caliphs).

"Some people accepted Islam during the period of Umar bin Abdul Aziz who is called the fifth rightful caliph of Islam. All these people renounced Islam, sometimes later. Maimoon bin Mahran, the governor of the area, wrote to the caliph about these people. In reply, Umar bin Abdul Aziz ordered him to release those people and asked him to re-impose jizya (tax on non-Muslims) on them."

Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i (d. 95 AH)
Leading jurist and traditionalist among the generation succeeding the companions of the prophet.

"According to Al-Nakha’i, an apostate should be re-invited to Islam but should never be condemned to death. (He) maintained the view that the invitation should continue for as long as there is hope that the apostate might change his mind and repent."

Sufyan Al-Thawri (d. 161 AH)
Known as ‘the prince of the believers concerning Hadith (amir al-mu’minin fi’l-Hadith)’; author of two important compilations of Hadith (Islamic traditions), namely al-Jami’ al-Kabir and al-Jami’ al-Saghir.

"According to Al-Thawri, an apostate should be re-invited to Islam but should never be condemned to death. (He) maintained the view that the invitation should continue for as long as there is hope that the apostate might change his mind and repent."

Shams Al-Din Al-Sarakhsi (d. 389 AH)
Eminent Hanafi jurist; author of al-Mabsut.

"The prescribed penalties (hudud) are generally not suspended because of repentance, especially when they are reported and become known to the head of state (imam). The punishment of highway robbery, for instance, is not suspended because of repentance; it is suspended only by the return of property to the owner prior to arrest… Renunciation of the faith and conversion to disbelief is admittedly the greatest of offences yet it is a matter between man and his creator and its punishment is postponed to the day of judgement (fa’l-jaza’ ‘alayha mu’akhkhar ila dar al-jaza’). Punishments that are enforced in this life are those which protect the people’s interests, such as just retaliation, which is designed to protect life."

Abu Al-Walid Al-Baji (d. 474 AH)
Noted Maliki jurist; contemporary of Imam Ibn Hazm.

"(Al-Baji) observed that apostasy is a sin which carries no prescribed penalty and that such a sin may only be punished under the discretionary punishment of ta’zir."

Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Al-Qurtubi
(d. 1273 AD)
Eminent Maliki scholar of Hadith and fiqh (jurisprudence).

"Al-Samara’i in his comment on this verse (an-Nahl:107) has quoted from Qurtubi’s al-Jami the remark that the verse conveys an admonition that the wrath of Allah will be incurred by the apostate but there is no hint of any other punishment."

Abu Hayyan Al-Andalusi (d. 1355 AD)
Maliki scholar; author of Koranic commentary, Bahrul Muhit.

"Ibn Hayyan, a well known exegete, has expressly mentioned a definite opinion that no apostate can be coerced into rejoining the Muslim community."

Ibn Al-Hammam Al-Hanafi
(14th century AD)
Eminent scholar.

"There is no punishment for the act of apostasy, for its punishment is greater than that, with god."

Shaikh Rashid Rida (1865-1935)
Eminent Islamic scholar; disciple of Afghani/ Abduh.

"This verse reaffirms the one which occurs in surah al-Baqarah (2:256) and both proscribe compulsion in religion. Both of these passages proclaim and uphold that people are free to pursue religious beliefs of their own choosing. No one is to be compelled to abandon the religion he professes nor must anyone be exposed to punishment and torture for the sake of religion."

Shaikh Mahmud Shaltut (1893-1963)
Prominent Egyptian Islamic scholar and the shaykh or grand imam i.e. leader of the Al-Azhar Islamic Institute in Egypt from 1958 to 1963.

"Mahmud Shaltut analyses the relevant evidence in the Koran and draws the conclusion that apostasy carries no temporal penalty and that in reference to this particular sin the Koran speaks only of punishment in the hereafter."

Subhi Mahmassani
Outstanding Islamic scholar and jurist from Lebanon; author of The Philosophy of Jurisprudence in Islam, 1961.

"Mahmassani has observed that the death penalty was meant to apply not to simple acts of apostasy from Islam but when apostasy was linked to an act of political betrayal of the community. The prophet never killed anyone solely for apostasy. This being the case, the death penalty was not meant to apply to a simple change of faith but to punish acts such as treason, joining forces with the enemy and sedition."

Shaykh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi
Grand imam of Al-Azhar since 1996.

"Shaykh Tantawi’s ruling on the subject of a Muslim apostatising has certainly shed new light on this subject while making non-Muslims realise that Islam is a religion of moderation. To Shaykh Tantawi, a Muslim who renounced his faith or turned apostate should be left alone as long as he does not pose a threat or belittle Islam. If Muslims were forced to take action against the apostate, he said it should not be because he or she had given up the faith but because he or she had turned out to be an enemy or a threat to Islam. Shaykh Tantawi, in his views, shows clearly how simple and moderate Islam is a religion that is tolerant and not coercive on anybody. Shaykh Tantawi repeatedly stresses the need for Muslims to acquire traditional Islamic knowledge as well as modern ones so that they could add to the strength of the Muslim community to defend the religion."

Islamic Research Department,
Al-Azhar University, Egypt

"The Islamic Research Department of Al-Azhar University has called the penalty for apostasy as null and void and has said that the ways of repentance are open for one’s whole life… So an apostate can repent over his mistake any time during his life and there would be no fixed period for it."

Dr Jamal Badawi
Professor emeritus, St Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"The preponderance of evidence from both the Koran and Sunnah indicates that there is no firm ground for the claim that apostasy is in itself a mandatory fixed punishment, namely capital punishment."

"When a man in Medina apostated from Islam the prophet neither ordered his execution nor punished him in any other way and when the man finally left Medina the prophet never sent anyone to arrest him or punish him because of his apostasy."

Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Professor of Law at the International Islamic University of Malaysia; author of Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, 2003 and Freedom of Expression in Islam, 1994.

"The controversy has been exacerbated further by reliance on the provision in the Sunnah which authorises the death penalty for apostasy without due consideration of other evidence in the Sunnah to the effect that punishment by death was meant only for apostasy accompanied by hostility and treason… The prophet did not treat apostasy as a proscribed offence but, on the contrary, pardoned many individuals who had embraced Islam then renounced it and then embraced it again… (T)he Koran is consistent in its affirmation of the freedom of belief and it fully supports the conclusion that the objectives of the Shariah cannot be properly fulfilled without granting people the freedom of belief and the liberty to express it."

Dr Tariq Ramadan
Swiss Muslim academic and scholar.

"Q: What about apostasy? What happens if you are born and educated a Muslim but then say: I have now decided that Islam is not for me. Would you accept that someone born into a Muslim family has a right to say that they no longer believe and that families and communities must respect that?

"A: I have been criticised about this in many countries. My view is the same as that of Sufyan Al-Thawri, an eighth century scholar of Islam who argued that the Koran does not prescribe death for someone because he or she is changing religion. Neither did the prophet himself ever perform such an act. Many around the prophet changed religions. But he never did anything against them. There was an early Muslim, Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh, who went with the first emigrants from Mecca to Abyssinia. He converted to Christianity and stayed but remained close to Muslims. He divorced his wife but he was not killed."

Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahari
(d. 1979 AD)
Prominent and influential Iranian scholar, cleric, academic and political figure.

"The late Ayatollah Mutahari highlighted the incompatibility of coercion with the spirit of Islam and the basic redundancy of punitive measures in the propagation of its message. He wrote that it is impossible to force anyone to acquire the kind of faith that is required by Islam, just as it is not possible to spank a child into solving an arithmetical problem. His mind and thought must be left free in order that he may solve it. The Islamic faith is something of this kind."

Dr Hassan Turabi
Sudanese Islamic leader and intellectual.

"Q: You believe that apostasy should not be punishable by death. There has been a recent case of an Afghan who was about to be killed for apostasy but was saved under the pretence of mental illness. The case was recognised internationally as Italy wants to grant him asylum.
"A: There are too many Koranic verses to recite (regarding this). We are ordered to debate with Christians and Jews except those who are unjust. We believe in their prophets who are our prophets too. We believe in their books even if some distortion took place. We are ordered to treat them cordially."

"To be punishable (as a capital offence) apostasy has to be more than just intellectual apostasy. It would have to translate into not only sedition but actually insurrection against society."

Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid
Former president of Indonesia and leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Muslim theologians must revise their understanding of Islamic law and recognise that punishment for apostasy is merely the legacy of historical circumstances and political calculations stretching back to the early days of Islam. Such punishments run counter to the clear Koranic injunction, ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’ (2:256).

"People of goodwill of every faith and nation must unite to ensure the triumph of religious freedom and of the ‘right’ understanding of Islam, to avert global catastrophe and spare millions of others the fate of Sudan’s great religious and political leader, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, who was executed on a false charge of apostasy."

Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
A significant Shia religious authority and former leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

"(Montazeri) states that the above verses do not prescribe an earthly penalty for apostasy and adds that it is not improbable that the punishment was prescribed by Muhammad during early Islam due to political conspiracies against Islam and Muslims and not only because of changing belief or expressing it. Montazeri defines different types of apostasy. He does not hold that a reversion of belief because of investigation and research is punishable by death but prescribes capital punishment for a desertion of Islam out of malice and enmity towards the Muslim community."

Dr Muhammad Ma’ruf Al-Dawalibi
Former professor of Law, University of Damascus, Syria; member, Supreme International Council for Mosques, Mecca.

"(I)t has never been proved that the messenger of god exacted punishment on apostates by killing them. This was also what the caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz did… Shaikh Mahmud Shaltut says that many scholars are of the opinion that hudud punishment cannot be proved by Hadiths reported by single individuals. He also says that disbelief in itself is not justification for shedding blood. The real justification would be aggression against Muslims, fighting them."

Sheikh Gamal Al-Banna
Egyptian Islamist thinker, author and journalist.

In an article titled ‘No Punishment for Riddah (Muslims leaving Islam); Freedom of Thought is the Backbone of Islam’, Al-Banna quoted all the Koranic verses on the subject and then said, "These verses are clear with regard to riddah in Islam; they make no mention of any torture or punishment for the murtadd (apostates) in this world, like the punishments for thieves or murderers. The (only) dreadful and terrifying punishment is the rage of Allah. This is compatible with the policy and spirit of the Koran and the many other texts included in it that are based on belief in persuading the individual and his intent without coercion or pressure and that state that his freedom is maximal."

Dr Abdul Aziz Sachedina
Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, USA.

"The ethics of Islamic law allows for an interesting dilemma in regard to the issue of free speech because there is no clear understanding between civil and religious violations. There are certain acts, such as apostasy, that don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the legal system and don’t have a defined penal punishment as outlined in the Koran. There can be no particular punishment for apostasy from a legal point of view," Sachedina said. From a religious point of view, only god has the power to punish you.

Dr Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman
Former rector, International Islamic University, Malaysia; former chairman, International Institute of Islamic Thoughts.

"The conceptual confusion occurs in the early period of Islam because this political conspiracy took the form of apostasy while the real goal was to destroy the Muslim community. The confusion lies in taking the act for what it appeared to be and not for what it was meant to be. They mistook political conspiracy for an exercise of the human right of freedom of belief and choice. The jurists seemed to exercise little analysis concerning the whole question. The word apostasy alone determined their position.

"This misunderstanding of the significance of the word apostasy in the Koran and the punishment to it in the Hadith of the prophet destroyed in the classical jurisprudence the basis of the Islamic concept of tolerance and human responsibility.

"The early Muslim position on apostasy… was not directed against freedom of conscience and belief but towards enforcing the policy of Islamisation of the warring Bedouin tribes and toward checking conspiracy."

SA Rahman
Former chief justice of Pakistan.

"(T)he Koran is silent on the question of death as the punishment for apostasy despite this subject’s occurring no less than 20 times in the holy book. Rahman then traces the chain of transmission of the Hadith which proclaims ‘kill whoever changes his religion’…

"As this is a solitary Hadith (ahad), Rahman finds some weakness in its transmission (isnad). Rahman’s conclusion is also supported by other evidence, such as the fact that neither the prophet himself nor any of his companions ever compelled anyone to embrace Islam nor did they sentence anyone to death solely for renunciation of the faith."

Dr Khaled Abou El Fadl
Distinguished scholar and professor of Law and Islamic Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

"But while the Koran mentions riddah, it never calls for the execution of apostates. There is no record of the prophet killing an apostate himself. And executions of apostates have been rare in Islamic history. ‘The common argument is that it clearly contradicts the Koran, which says there should not be compulsion in religion,’ said Khaled Abou El Fadl, an Islamic law expert and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles."

Dr Fathi Osman
Islamic scholar and author based in southern California, USA.

"This principle of freedom of faith is assured in many other Koranic verses. As examples, we read 10:99, 11:28, 88:21-22. Forcing any person to act in any way nullifies the moral and legal responsibility of that person in such an action whether it is good or evil; consequently, he/she cannot be respectively rewarded or punished for that forced action. Accordingly, imposing Islam by force on any human being will never bring out god’s acceptance and reward to the imposer or the one upon whom it was imposed…

"Another report attributed the reason of revelation (of 2:256) to another incident in which two sons of a Yathribi were persuaded to be Christians by some Syrian merchants whom they joined. Their parents wanted to get them back by force but the prophet stressed their right to make their own free decision and the verse was revealed to support what the prophet had said. Al-Zamakhshari, the distinguished linguist and commentator of the Koran, commented on the above verse: ‘God has not conducted the matter of faith through compelling and forcing but through enabling (the person to make his/her own decision) and wilfully choosing’."

Dr Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al-Hanooti
Mufti of Greater Washington, USA.

"The issue of apostasy falls under the umbrella of man’s free will, freedom of expression and belief. The holy Koran states unequivocally that nobody can be compelled to either become a Muslim or remain one. In surah 4: 137, Allah says, ‘Behold, as for those who come to believe and then deny the truth and again come to believe and again deny the truth and thereafter grow stubborn in their denial of the truth, god will not forgive them nor will he guide them in any way.’ This ayaat (verse from the Koran) very clearly shows that even after rejecting Islam twice no punishment is prescribed for the apostates.

"The punishment for apostasy mentioned in Islamic literature is derived from Hadiths whose authenticity is not certain (as these Hadiths are ahad – from one source, but not mutawatir – from a consensus of sources). Even among those scholars who accept them as authentic, there is vast difference of opinion on the interpretation and elaboration of the Hadiths. Such Hadiths have been traditionally cited as justification for executing apostates but these were circumstantial rulings where legal authorities of that time deemed the punishment justified, as the act of apostasy in question, or in some cases, mass apostasy, was comparable to treason or to an organised crime outfit where the apostates would ally themselves with the opponents of the state.

"Such Hadiths, which have, in the past, been cited to justify punishment for apostasy therefore cannot stand against the Koran, which provides no textual evidence for such action. On the contrary, the Koran states in surah 10:99: ‘If it had been the will of your lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the world would have believed! Would you then compel them against their will to believe?’

"In conclusion, the Koran is the definitive clear authority for protecting the rights of an individual in expressing himself in faith and supersedes any of the distorted interpretations of the Hadiths in question. Executing a person because of conversion to another faith contradicts the Koran, the ultimate source of Shariah."

Islamic Center of Long Island,
New York

"The Koran states categorically and unequivocally, there shall be no coercion in matters of faith (2:256). This cornerstone tenet of Islamic faith is violated when an individual is put on trial for converting away from Islam. This verse very clearly teaches that faith is a personal matter between the individual and god."

Dr Asghar Ali Engineer
Director, Institute of Islamic Studies, India.

"No wonder then that the Koran not only does not prescribe any punishment for apostasy, it is against any such punishment… In view of such clear exposition how can one maintain that one who becomes apostate should be punished with death? Such a punishment goes completely against the principle of freedom of faith laid down in the Koran. Since according to the Koran human beings are responsible for their acts, they have been created free and only a free agent can be held responsible for one’s acts, good or bad. This is quite clear from the story of Adam who was warned not to go near a tree in paradise but was left free to decide and he decided to test the fruit of the tree and as a result was expelled from it (paradise). This story itself is sufficient to establish the principle of freedom of choice in the Koran… Today human rights are of vital importance and modern scholars are also engaged in the project of showing these rights as quite compatible with Islam. And if some ulema insist on the death sentence for apostasy it is not only a crime against freedom of conscience and democratic rights but also a serious disservice against Islam."

Dr Abdullah Saeed
Director, Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam, University of Melbourne, Australia.

"This book (co-authored by Saeed) 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 Koranic 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."

Dr Mohamed Shahrour
Islamic thinker and scholar; Syria.

"Let us consider how the history of Islamic jurisprudence has dealt with the issue of freedom and justice in relation to apostasy. We have to distinguish between two types of apostasy: that of politics and that of creeds and beliefs. To rebel against the government and attempt to oust it and rule in its stead is political apostasy… when we persuade or coerce people into believing or disbelieving, we are actually disregarding and belittling god’s word… I wish to emphasise that Islamic respect for freedom and Muslims’ awareness of its value cannot be established by force and coercion, for the enforcement of any democratic ideal would be no different from ‘just tyrannical’ leadership."

Dr Irfan Ahmad Khan
Respected scholar of the Koran; president of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations; chair of the Inter-religious Engagement Project; trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions; author of a new Koranic translation and commentary, Reflections on the Quran: Understanding Surahs Al-Fatihah & Al-Baqarah; Illinois; USA.

"(N)o one has any right to use pressure of any kind to make a person change or stop from changing his/her religion. An individual out of his/her own free will should himself or herself do entering into a religion or coming out of a religion."

Dr Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
President/director, Minaret of Freedom Institute, Maryland, USA.

"Discussions of Islamic law by non-Muslims (and all too often by Muslims as well) suffer from confusion between the concepts of apostasy and treason. The majority view is that the death penalty applies only to treason during wartime, including providing aid and comfort to the enemy, rather than mere conversion. According to the Constitution (Article III, Section 3), treason consists only ‘in levying war against (the United States), or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort’. That Muhammad shared this view can be seen in the fact that he never executed apostates except when they made war or propaganda against the Muslims."

Shaikh Dr Taha Jabir Al-Alwani
Former professor of Fiqh and Usul al Fiqh at Imam Muhammad Ibn Sa’ud Islamic University in Riyadh; founding member, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in the USA in 1981; founder member of the Council of the Muslim World League in Mecca; member of the OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah since 1987; president of the Fiqh Council of North America since 1988.

"Apostasy is not a simple act. It has several parts. We cannot simply say that someone left the religion. We must look at the reasons and actions that come before leaving the religion. Suppose one becomes an expatriate and fights against the US (for example). This person would be tried and convicted of treason and usually killed. But if one leaves a religion without causing harm to others or engaging in treason, then there is no punishment. The Koran is blatant about the fact that there is no compulsion in religion. Some people at the time of the prophet would convert in the morning and leave Islam at night. The prophet then announced that those joining Islam in good faith are welcome but those who join only to then leave and discredit Islam and then encourage others to fight Islam, that is considered treason and treated as a crime in the same way as US law."

Dr Louay Safi
Executive director of the ISNA Leadership Development Center;
ex-president, Association of Muslim Social Scientists; USA.

"Traditionalist scholars have long embraced classical positions on apostasy that consider the rejection of Islam as a capital crime punished by death. This uncritical embrace is at the heart of the drama that was played in the case of the Afghan convert to Christianity and which would likely be repeated until the debate about Shariah reform and its relevance to state and civil law is examined and elaborated by authentic Muslim voices… Indeed, one cannot find in the Koran any support for the apostasy penalty… I am inclined to the increasingly popular view among contemporary scholars that riddah does not involve a moral act of conversion but a military act of rebellion whose calming justifies the use of force and the return of fire… A Christian or a Jew who converts to Islam is no more a Christian or a Jew but a Muslim and must be respected as such. By the same token, a Muslim who converts to Christianity is no more a Muslim but a Christian and must be respected as such."

Dr Zaki Badawi
Principal of the Muslim College; chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council, UK; chairman of the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council UK; vice-chairman of the World Congress of Faiths; director and trustee of UNICEF UK.

"(F)orcing people to believe things just makes them hypocrites. The Koran has no compulsion, no punishment for going away."

Muslim Public Affairs Council, USA

"We strongly oppose the state’s use of coercion in regulating Islamic belief since faith is a matter of individual choice on which only god can adjudicate."

Dr Saif Ad-Deen ‘Abdul-Fattah
Professor of Political Theory at Cairo University; known for his remarkable contribution to the branch of jurisprudence that deals with al-maqasid (the objectives of Shariah).

"I think that the rule that governs the issue here is Allah’s saying (There is no compulsion in religion, al-Baqarah 2:256). Religion cannot by any means be compared to a trap; whoever is trapped in it can never get out. Muslims are in no need of new hypocrites. From this point, I can assure that those who apostatise are always to be asked to repent. The incidents of apparent apostasy in our history are those of collective apostasy. This kind of collective apostasy is considered as cases of state security and national security in which the penalty for apostasy is applied to protect the whole state."

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar
Al-Shinqiti
Director, Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas, USA.

"What I understand from different Hadiths on the issue is that apostasy has two different aspects: one, as an intellectual position i.e. a Muslim who is no longer convinced of the truth of Islam. The second apostasy is in the meaning of political treason and military rebellion against Muslims. During the time of Prophet Muhammad, the person that changed his religion joined the pagan army and fought against Muslims and that is, in my view, what is meant by ‘one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims’. Therefore, apostasy as purely an intellectual position has no prescribed punishment in Islamic law but if a Muslim committed treason against the Muslim ummah and joined the enemy fighting against Muslims then he would deserve the death punishment, especially at times of war. Even in secular laws in some countries the penalty for treason is capital punishment.

"This does not mean that apostasy is not a great sin – indeed it is the worst of all sins and Allah says that he will punish those who committed such a heinous act. But not every sin that is punishable on the day of judgement has punishment in this world."

Muslim American Society (MAS)

"We at MAS Freedom oppose the possible execution of Mr Abdul Rahman on both humanitarian and religious grounds. To pursue such an action would not only be a flagrant violation of the standards of human rights which the Karzai regime claims to embrace but it also runs contrary to the holy Koran which forbids compulsion in religion."

Dr ME Asad Subhani
Head of the faculty of Islamic Studies at the College of Education in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

"(Subhani) argues that the dominant Muslim position on apostasy as deserving death is, in fact, not sanctioned in the primary sources of Islam, the Koran and the Hadith, the traditions attributed to Prophet Muhammad."

Maulana Inayatullah Asad Subhani
Scholar; author of several thought provoking books on Islam; India.

"Inayatullah Subhani says that neither does Islam force any person to embrace Islam nor does it force him to remain within its fold. He writes, ‘apostasy has been mentioned several times in the Koran. It also describes the bad treatment that will be meted out for committing apostasy but it never talks of punishment for the crime in this world.’ Maulana mentions three ayaat from the Koran on apostasy (al-Baqarah 217, Muhammad 25-27 and al-Maida 54) and then says that none of these ayaat prescribes any punishment for that though these ayaat pass strictures on the people who commit it. He mentions several other ayaat on the same issue and then concludes that none of these ayaat prescribes either the death penalty or any other punishment for apostasy in this world. He then adds that had there been some punishment in Islam for apostasy there was no reason as to why the issue was mentioned repeatedly in the Koran but no punishment was prescribed.

"He emphasises that people who were awarded the death penalty for reverting to other religions from Islam during either the time of the prophet or during the reign of his caliphs were not given the punishment for the crime of apostasy but for the fact that they were at war with Muslims and Islamic government."

Islamic Center of Southern California

"We believe this trial, as well as apostasy laws in Afghanistan and other so-called Muslim states mandating the killing of apostates, violates two fundamental tenets of Islam.

"a) Freedom of religion – The Koran states categorically and unequivocally, ‘There shall be no coercion in matters of faith’ (2:256). This cornerstone tenet of Islamic faith is violated when an Islamic nation puts on trial individuals for converting away from Islam. Based on this verse, we see that faith is an intimate matter between a person and god. There is no room for a nation, or a pseudo-religious clergy, to take on a role that god has reserved for himself in judging the relationship between a person and the almighty.

"b) Sanctity of human life – one of the paramount goals of Islamic law is the protection of human life."

Dr Abidullah Ghazi
Executive director, IQRA International Educational Foundation, Skokie, Illinois, USA.

"The instances of mutual respect and cooperation afforded those Muslims living in North America are too numerous, while incidents of impudence and intolerance, seemingly inspired by the Shariah code, have displayed the exact opposite in several Muslim majority lands…

"There has also existed historically a long tradition of acceptance of diversity of culture and faith in Islamic civilisation, a fact that has to be remembered by those wishing to jettison this value in favour of insularity and narrow-mindedness. The question nowadays for the Muslim community in the West is how we want this very same culture of freedom and choice that we enjoy as minorities reflected in Muslim majority societies. In the globalised reality of today, western Muslims have a special duty to promote similar attitudes of respect for human rights, tolerance and mutuality in Muslim majority societies…

"As a believing and practising Muslim who is deeply involved in inter-religious dialogue and understanding, I call on all Muslim judicial systems and legislatures worldwide (where the riddah law exists) to contemplate the decorum for this modern age in which we live and bring our age-old and well-tested values in line with universal values. It is high time that Muslims learn to respond to all such challenges intellectually and academically, not through passionate or repellent reaction."

Dr Ziauddin Sardar
Cultural critic, Muslim scholar, prolific author and editor of Futures: The Journal of Planning, Policy and Futures Studies; UK.

"Most Muslims consider the Shariah, commonly translated as ‘Islamic law’, to be divine. Yet there is nothing divine about the Shariah. The only thing that can legitimately be described as divine in Islam is the Koran. The Shariah is a human construction; an attempt to understand the divine will in a particular context. This is why the bulk of the Shariah actually consists of fiqh or jurisprudence, which is nothing more than legal opinion of classical jurists. The very term fiqh was not in vogue before the Abbasid period when it was actually formulated and codified. But when fiqh assumed its systematic legal form, it incorporated three vital aspects of Muslim society of the Abbasid period. At that juncture, Muslim history was in its expansionist phase and fiqh incorporated the logic of Muslim imperialism of that time. The fiqh rulings on apostasy, for example, derive not from the Koran but from this logic."

Dr Amir Hussain
Department of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, California, USA.

"Unfortunately, many Muslims and non-Muslims alike are unaware of the historical contexts that shaped the development of Islamic law. The harsh measures that some Muslims impose on those who leave the faith must be understood in light of Islam’s beginnings as a persecuted tradition. Muslims were threatened by the polytheists in Mecca and a series of battles occurred between Muhammad’s community in Medina and the polytheists of Mecca. In that context the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy was not so much a matter of religious affiliation as a matter of political identity. By reverting back to polytheism after having converted to Islam one would actively be siding with the polytheists of Mecca and would therefore undermine the Muslim community. In effect, apostasy was comparable to treason, an offence which still carries the death penalty in several jurisdictions in the United States though no longer in Canada…

"When Muslims take upon themselves god’s role as judge of a person’s faith, they flout the Koranic injunction given to Prophet Muhammad himself, that he was to warn people but not force them to obey: ‘So therefore remind, for you (Muhammad) are one to remind, but you are not a warden over them. But whoever turns back and disbelieves, god will punish him with a mighty punishment. For to us (god) is their return and it will be for us to call them to account’ (88:21 – 26). It is therefore god who will inflict punishment when human beings return to god at the end of this life."

Muslim Women’s League (MWL)

"The Muslim Women’s League … (calls) for the release of the Afghan Christian convert recently on trial for apostasy. We follow the Koranic mandate that ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ and hope that this case will be resolved justly, as required by Islam."

Imam Yahya Hendi
Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University; imam of the Islamic Society of Frederick; member and spokesperson of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of North America; adjunct faculty with Evergreen Society of John Hopkins University’s School of Professional Development, Maryland, USA.

"I call on the government of Afghanistan to release Abdul Rahman, a man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity. According to my understanding of Islamic law, belief is a personal matter not subject to the intervention of the state. Shariah law safeguards the right of every human being to choose his/her own faith and tradition. Shariah law should not and must not be used by politicians to justify inhumane and cruel treatment of converts and religious minorities living in so-called Muslim lands."

Imam Sadullah Khan
Executive director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Irvine, California, USA.

"There is not a single instance that Prophet Muhammad did treat apostasy as a prescribed offence under hudud only for leaving Islam. The prophet never put anyone to death for apostasy alone, rather he let such person go unharmed."

Dr Reza Aslan
Research associate at the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy; author of No god but God; USA.

"It’s important, first of all, to understand that the Koran says nothing about apostasy at all. There is no punishment for apostasy. This idea of death as a punishment for apostasy actually arose at a time in which Islam and the state were one. So apostasy and treason were considered the same thing. And therefore the punishment of death was for all of it.

"Not all Islamic law, schools of Islamic law, actually agree upon this, just the very conservative ones. And there are few more conservative schools of law than in Afghanistan."

Dr Ahmad Shafaat
Distinguished mathematician and currently, professor, department of Decision Sciences and MIS, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; noted scholar in his own profession; also specialised in Comparative Religion and authored many books and pamphlets about Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

"It is a significant fact that the book of god does not prescribe any punishment for apostasy. Many Muslims would immediately say, the Koran does not tell us everything. We need to go to the Hadith to find guidance on matters not touched by the Koran. But… (t)he punishment for apostasy is not a detail that we can expect god to leave for Hadith, especially if that punishment is death, since taking the life of a person, if done without a just cause, is regarded by the Koran as tantamount to killing all human beings (5:32)."

Zainah Anwar
Executive director, Sisters in Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"(E)ven though apostasy is a great sin it is not a capital offence in Islam. Therefore a personal change of faith merits no punishment. Yet in its attempt to introduce the hudud law in the 21st century, the Islamic party in power in Terengganu chose the most extremist juristic opinion to codify into law. It is a well known fact that the Koran is explicit in its recognition of freedom of religion and there exists as well within the Islamic juristic heritage a position that supports freedom of religion."

Dr Hasan Zillur Rahim
Physicist; former editor of IQRA, South Bay Islamic Association, California, USA.

"Many Muslims have already pointed out the absurdity, illegality and immorality of apostasy-killing as the hapless Rahman’s impending fate filtered out of Afghanistan. The most powerful indictment comes, of course, from the Koran: ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’ (2:256)…

"Hopefully, killing for apostasy and stoning to death (only women need apply) for adultery will soon be a thing of the past as absolutist clerics realise that their hold over Muslim minds and hearts is rapidly dissipating…

"Even in conservative societies, Muslims are beginning to realise that faith is a matter of personal responsibility and not a consequence of authoritarian decree. The days of religious leaders thundering: ‘I am right, you are dead’ will soon, let us pray, be over once and for all."

Islamic Networks Groups (ING)
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA, ING, an entrepreneurial, educational outreach organisation with affiliates and partners in 20 states, Canada and the United Kingdom, promotes interfaith dialogue and education.

"Nowhere in the Koran does it mention punishment for apostasy although the subject of disbelief is mentioned repeatedly and (surah 4:137) specifically describes a person who disbelieves repeatedly without any mention of punishment… (A)ccording to numerous Islamic scholars, the death penalty was meant not for simple acts of apostasy but for political betrayal of the community, or treason, which is punishable in numerous societies… ING calls on all Muslims to re-examine universal Islamic principles that uphold the rights of all people to freedom of religion."

Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin
Youngest national mufti, Malaysia.

"‘Islamic leaders must squarely address the question of apostates and other challenges and not further damage the Muslim community by their own failure to live up to religious values.’

"Asked to comment on tensions raised by the issue of apostasy, Asri said religious leaders were culpable because they divert focus from the reasons that lead Muslims to apostatise. Instead, they issued threats of punitive measures against apostates and non-Muslim supporters."

Iman Al-Qahtani
A Saudi journalist, she is also an author and activist based in Saudi Arabia.

"There is no basis for executing an apostate in Islam. It is nothing more than an invention by narrow-minded men who accuse everyone in disagreement with them of apostasy."

Dr Sohirin Solihin
Professor of Qur’anic Studies, International Islamic University, Malaysia.

"The Koran forbids Muslims to abandon their faith but it doesn’t specify the penalties."

Imam Kamara Abdil Haqq Muhammad
Islamic teacher and associate imam at ADAMS Center of Northern Virginia, USA.

"Of the many things we try to remember, we must remember this clear fact: Allah is not in need of anyone or anything in his creation… I have found that the less educated people are in the Koran and social life, the harder they are on others. The prophet never punished those around him who sometimes said shahaadah (declaration of faith) in the morning and changed to something else in the evening."

Sisters In Islam
Sisters in Islam (SIS) is an independent non-governmental organisation, formed in 1988, which believes in an Islam that upholds the principles of equality, justice, freedom and dignity; Malyasia.

"(P)rominent ulema from the seventh to the 20th centuries have come out with the position that there can be no death penalty for apostasy… If an Islamic state means a dictatorial theocratic political system that condemns those who question or challenge its authority as apostates or deviants and then impose the death penalty on them, then why would those whose fundamental liberties are protected by a democratic state support such an intolerant concept of an Islamic state?"

Shah Abdul Halim
Chairman of Islamic Information Bureau, Bangladesh.

"In fact there is not a single instance that Prophet Muhammad did treat apostasy as a prescribed offence under hudud only for leaving Islam. The prophet never put anyone to death for apostasy alone, rather he let such person go unharmed."

Muhammad Ridzwan Rahmat
Editor, Ewadah.com.

"Islam is a religion that has never been forced upon (anyone). The very idea that a conversion to Islam is a one-way street which one can never turn from is a much dissipated myth. The Koran prohibits Muslims to force Islam on to an individual. Muslims past and present have largely converted to Islam out of their own free will… Again, no authority has been granted to Muslims to specifically kill the apostates of Islam should they mean no harm. Apostates are to be treated fairly as non-Muslims. Compulsion will not make sense in Islam."

Professor Shahul Hameed
Consultant, Discover Islam Section, Islamonline.net; former head of the department of English, Farook College, Calicut University, India; president of the Kerala Islamic Mission, Jamaat-e- Islami, Hind, Kerala Zone, Calicut, India.

"(T)he noble Koran does not prescribe death penalty for deserters of Islam but rather states that they would be in hell in the hereafter (2:217)… the ruling was with reference to certain specific cases of miscreants who wished to undermine Islam by joining Islam first and then deserting it… the killing of apostates would undermine the freedom of will Allah has bestowed on each human, as is made clear in the verses."

Anwaar Hussain
Columnist, Pak Tribune.

"In a screaming instance of a heart-rending paradox in the Muslim world, an Afghan convert to Christianity is to be tried in a Kabul court for apostasy, a ‘crime’ that is punishable by death in that country. Despite clear injunctions in the Koran that ‘there is no compulsion in religion’ and ‘to you, your own religion and to me, mine’, an innocent man may be executed while we stand by and watch this gruesome charade in the name of god… Fortunately, some highly distinguished contemporary Islamic scholars on renewed ijtihad (independent interpretation of legal sources) hold absolutely differing views on the subject of apostasy… The historic fact remains that the prophet never put anyone to death for apostasy alone. No one was sentenced to death solely for repudiation of faith unless accompanied by certain other crimes. Those other crimes would have been punishable by death in any contemporary state of the time. As a matter of fact, the Koran is completely silent on the question of death as a punishment for apostasy. Apostasy simply does not qualify for temporal punishment."

The Iraqi Women Leaders Conference
A joint project of the American Islamic Congress, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the Independent Women’s Forum.

"It is important to note that wine drinking (shrub) and apostasy (riddah) are not hudud crimes and the Koran specifies no punishment for these two offences. Yet, fiqh manuals have, erroneously, included shrub and riddah in the category of hudud."

Inayat Bunglawala
Media secretary at the Muslim Council of Britain; co-presenter of the weekly ‘Politics and Media Show’ on the Islam Channel (SKY 813).

"To force someone to remain in a faith they do not believe seems rather absurd as it negates the whole basis of sincere belief and seems closer to officially endorsing hypocrisy.

"There is a famous remark attributed to the 19th century Egyptian Muslim activist and scholar Muhammad Abduh, who visited various European countries and said, ‘I have been to many Muslim countries and found many Muslims there but little Islam. I have also been to some European countries and found few Muslims there but a lot of Islam’."

apostasyandislam.blogspot.com

Archived from Communalism Combat, November-December 2007 Year 14    No.126, Apostasy, Cover Story 1

The post Apostasy and Islam appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 

There is anti-Islam animus in the media and a Muslim organisation needs to scream much louder than anyone else to get media attention

In an op-ed piece that he wrote for the Los Angeles Times (July 14, 2002), academic and Islamic scholar Dr Khaled Abou El Fadl, an important and influential voice, argued that Muslim organisations in the US had failed to establish their credibility and to convince the American public of the outrage felt by most Muslims over the tragedy of September 11. "American Muslims must demand that either this leadership reform itself or be changed," he concluded.

Though El Fadl did not name any organisation in his piece, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil liberties group in the US, felt compelled to respond, claiming the academic’s claims were not founded on facts. CAIR said that within two hours of the 9/11 attacks it had issued a joint statement along with other Muslim organisations sharply condemning the terror attacks, issued a nationwide call the same day asking Muslim medical professionals to rush to the rescue of victims, published a full page advertisement in The Washington Post the Sunday after the attack condemning the attacks and sending condolences to victims’ families, and participated in innumerable protest meetings to express the outrage of America’s Muslims.

In response, El Fadl wrote a long letter to CAIR. Though the above exchange is now over five years old, some of the points raised by the writer remain relevant even today. We reproduce excerpts from El Fadl’s letter to CAIR:

"I have been extremely concerned with the massive influx of Islam-bashing books and the high sales these books are achieving. We (Muslims) must publish our thought in mainstream presses in order to effectively disseminate our ideas. However, in order to be published in mainstream presses there is a mode of discourse and a style of analysis that very few American Muslims have mastered. Many of the books published in, what one might call, ghetto-like Muslim presses are embarrassing if examined from the perspective of standards set by mainstream publishers.

"The influx of hate-tracts written against Islam, and published and disseminated by influential mainstream publishers, feed the type of governmental policies that persecute many Muslims. We seem to fail to understand that a hundred works published by a relatively small Muslim press is not as effective in shaping public opinion and influencing public policy as a single book published by Harper Collins, for instance.

"The literature and governmental policies of the Islam haters are finding a receptive audience because of the popular conception that we Muslims have not done enough. What is missing is what might be called a proportional public relations campaign. Certainly, a Muslim American campaign existed but, in my view, it was not proportional to the gravity of events and accusations levelled against us. When someone threatens you with a tank, you cannot respond with a handgun. We needed to respond with a concerted, systematic, unified and unrelenting effort considering the stakes and dangers to our religion.

"Keep in mind that academics are the ones who write history and, as such, they are also the ones who construct reality for future generations. Your voice, as activists, must break through the barriers of isolation, if such barriers do in fact exist, and breach the proverbial tower. For the sake of our religion you must convince the writers of history and not just other activists.

"There is anti-Islam animus in the media and a Muslim organisation needs to scream much louder than anyone else to get the media’s attention. This is simply a reality of Muslim life in the USA; we must work ten times as hard as our Jewish or Christian counterparts to achieve the same results.

"Considering the stakes, considering the animus and hostility to us, considering the plots and conspiracies against us, our voice, as Muslims, must be loud, resounding and even deafening. We must be so loud to the point that we are able to drown out the voices of the (Islam bashers) Emersons and Pipes of our world.

"(Muslims) must do things that are so visible, so compelling and so unequivocal that they could not be denied by anyone. For instance, I want to be able to document, as an academic, for history’s sake, that Muslims on such and such date marched in the thousands to tell bin Laden to "get lost". I want to be able to cite such a public Muslim stance in my interviews, write it in my books and throw it in Emerson’s and Pipe’s faces next time I meet them at a conference or at a counter-terrorism intelligence briefing in the State Department or White House.

"Main (Muslim) organisations, despite the façade of democracy, are still trapped within the mainly despotic paradigms that they imported from back home. Put simply, we have our god-sent and god-inspired gurus and these gurus, regardless of official title and position, remain the effective and real source of leadership in our organisations."

www.scholarofthehouse.org

Archived from Communalism Combat, November-December 2007  Year 14    No.126, Jihad Against Terror, Cover Story 1

The post Shout to be heard appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Apostasy (riddah) is a major issue that affects the understanding of, and perception about, Islam. Historically, Muslim scholars have not factored in the distinction between apostasy (changing one’s faith, which is strictly a sin against god) and treason (strictly a civil offence against an established public order) when it is stated that Islam mandates capital punishment for riddah. That un-nuanced perspective about apostasy has fuelled negative propaganda against Islam and a negative image of Muslims. In recent years in some notable and well known cases, a fatwa (legal, non-binding opinion) was issued against alleged apostates and, at times, even a bounty was announced on their head.

Many Muslim scholars and academics have argued against the stated historical position as inconsistent with the Koran and on the grounds that killing someone for making a considered choice negates the very Islamic value and principle of freedom of choice, affecting Islam’s position on universal human rights.

Freedom of choice in faith is central to Islam. This has been exemplified in the Koranic narrative regarding the choice made by Satan in contrast with Adam and Eve and the broad agreement of Muslim scholars that only faith freely adopted is meritorious before god. Throughout history prophets and the communities of their believers have struggled to secure freedom of faith for themselves. Indeed it is a principle quintessential to both Islam and humanity.

Choosing a path in line with our beliefs about salvation has significant consequences in terms of our afterlife. In this world that freedom is bestowed upon us by god, which, by implication, must include the possibility of changing one’s faith. Freedom of religion is meaningless without the freedom to change one’s religion. Denial of such reciprocal rights is also inconsistent with the principle of justice (adl/qist), as clearly enunciated in the Koran (4/an-Nisa/135).

The Koran does not specify any worldly punishment or retribution solely for apostasy. Similarly, there is no clear prophetic judgement on apostasy nor examples that such punishment was meted out (during the time of the prophet or in the period of the righteous caliphate) to someone solely for abandoning Islam as a creed, in contrast with apostasy-cum-treason, involving taking up arms against the Muslim community or the state.

Islam upholds the fundamental principle pertaining to freedom of faith ("Let there be no compulsion in Deen", 2/ al-Baqarah/256; also see 39/al-Zumar/41). Thus:

Statement

We the undersigned Muslims from diverse backgrounds affirm:

The freedom of faith and the freedom of changing one’s faith. In light of the Koranic guidance and the prophetic legacy, the principle of freedom of faith does not lend itself to impose in this world any punishment or retribution solely for apostasy; thus there ought not to be any punishment in the name of Islam or fatwa calling for the same.

In addition, we call upon:

• our esteemed scholars (ulema) and jurists (fuqaha), to address this inconsistency between the Islamic principle of freedom of faith and the position mandating punishment for apostasy, and to bring our legacy of Islamic jurisprudence and general Islamic discourse up to date for the times with reference to indisputable and categorical Islamic principles.
• our fellow Muslims, to be informed of Islam’s position on apostasy and to uphold the principle of choice so that we may exercise tolerance towards those who have left the "straight path" and deal with their subsequent views and actions (even when they are against Islam) within the context of human rights and civil liberties allowed by law.
• imams and religious leaders, to educate and sensitise Muslim masses about notions of fairness and justice inherent in Islam, and respond to apostasy in a dignified, constructive and patient manner.
• governments of Muslim majority countries, to address this matter constitutionally as well as legally and actively engage in a process that eventually discards any law entailing punishment for apostasy.
• Islamic organisations, to uphold universal human rights (not inconsistent with Islam) and to defend the rights of ex-Muslims in regard to apostasy.

Friday, March 30, 2007

(The signatories include several Muslims from across the globe, in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, UAE, Syria, Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa.)

apostasyandislam.blogspot.com
 
Archived from Communalism Combat, November-December 2007 Year 14    No.126, Apostasy, Cover Story 2

The post Muslims uphold the freedom of faith appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Koran specifically prohibits Muslims from making mockery of other religions’ personalities and practices. Therefore if a Muslim commits blasphemy against non-Muslim deities, personalities, or practices (6:108), or even fellow Muslims (49:11), specific Koranic verses could be invoked to stop him/her from doing so. These are universal and timeless Koranic ethical injunctions that are applicable in Saudi Arabia as they are in Indonesia. One may choose to ignore them but that is his/her personal choice.

While the Koran approaches blasphemy from an ethically and philosophically mature standpoint, Muslims are dumbfounded by the never-ending juvenile jabs from certain quarters in the technologically and financially superior West. It seems that European academia and media continue to poke fun at Muhammad to flex their "intellectual" muscles. The most recent incident is that of 12 cartoons depicting Muhammad as a terrorist. The cartoons were first published by Jyllands-Posten in Denmark and then by other media outlets across Europe.

Verse 21:41 from the chapter, "The Prophets" says, "Mocked were apostles before thee; But their scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked." So according to the Koran, prophets and mocking go hand in hand, and the Koran mentions a specific end result for the mockers.

Also, in its characteristically mature style, the Koran instructs Muslims to "change the channel" when they walk upon senseless speech then disengage for a short period of time (6:68), and even wish peace and amicably disengage on a long term basis (28:55).

So with specific Koranic references we have seen that on one hand the Koran anticipates mocking of Muhammad as prophets before him were mocked and on the other hand outlines holistic and proactive controls at various levels of engagement from the Muslim side. If a Muslim or a group of Muslims react to provocations in an immature or unethical fashion it is because he/she has decided to act in a non-Koranic manner.

Mocking of Allah, Muhammad and the Koran does not "innocently" happen. Mocking the three is a stated and proactive strategy of certain players who have access to the European and other western media. Muslims can take "scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked" in verse 21:41 as a prophecy. They can also take it as a Koranic challenge in the light of verse 21:18 in the same chapter:

21:18: "Nay, We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold, falsehood doth perish! Ah! Woe be to you for the things ye ascribe."

Western provocations are opportunities in disguise to share Islamic teachings with fellow human beings – western or otherwise. Shouting, burning, beating, killing, boycotting, etc are not the most effective approaches to "hem" the mockers. The best jihad is through the Koran (25:52).

The post Seize the day appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Muslims of Kisanwadi will always remember Ramdas Pillai, Laxmiben Pillai, Ramdas’ brother and a friend named Kanubhai, who opened their doors to them on the frightful night of February 28, 2002. About 500 Muslims took shelter with the Pillais that night. Together with an auto-rickshaw driver and a tractor owner, Mohanbhai Savalia, they helped to whisk the Muslim residents of Kisanwadi away to safety. Were it not for the Muslims’ timely removal from Kisanwadi, the murderous mob may well have burnt them alive.

Kisanwadi lies in the eastern part of Vadodara and encompasses several slums and lower middle-class housing societies. There are 94 slum pockets occupied by approximately 10,000 families, mainly from Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim and other socially and educationally backward sections. Approximately 125 Muslim families, poor, peace-loving and simple folk, lived here.

In 2002, around 120 Muslim homes were destroyed at Kisanwadi after residents’ belongings were looted but there was no loss of life, thanks largely to the efforts of Ramdas, Laxmiben and others who kept them safe through the night of February 28 at great risk to their own lives and reached them to the relief camp at Qureshi Jamaat Khana the next day.

A young man of around 35 years, Ramdas Pillai does construction jobs. Originally from Kochi, Kerala, his family moved to Kisanwadi three generations ago. Ramdas’ wife, Laxmiben is a Gujarati. They have four children. Pillai’s four brothers also live in the same neighbourhood. The family has been involved in social work among the poor of the area for several years. In 1986, Ramdas and Laxmiben fought against slum demolition and for the housing rights of Kisanwadi’s residents. During the 1993 floods, they collected and distributed food grain worth Rs. 5.5 lakh. In the Kisanwadi area they are well known for their service to society and respected by the poor of all castes and creeds.

Although Kisanwadi lies adjacent to ‘Purva Vistaar’ (the eastern part of the city), considered to be a riot-prone area, the Kisanwadi slums had never witnessed communal violence and several slum pockets in this area had a mixed population where people had always coexisted peacefully. However, in 2002 things were very different. Tension started building on February 27 itself. As fear cast its shadow over this poor locality of Vadodara, there was unease in the neighbourhood and rumours abounded.

At about 5.30 p. m. on February 28, Nizambhai, a local resident, came and told the Pillais that there were strong rumours that the Muslims would be attacked. Immediately, Ramdas and Laxmiben, together with some Muslims from the area, went to assess the situation. By around 6 p.m. several people had collected and half-an-hour later they all decided to walk to the mosque. They sat at the mosque for a while and then proceeded to attend a wedding in the neighbourhood. At around 7 p.m. when they were all having dinner there, there were shouts of "Aaya, Aaya, Aaya!" (‘They’ve come!’) A large mob of around 250-300 persons approached Jhanda Chowk and started clambering onto the mosque. Ramdas Pillai stood in front of the mosque and tried to reason with them. He kept telling them that whatever happened at Godhra was done by other Muslims; do not punish these people for others’ wrongdoings. They managed to prevent people from damaging the mosque on that occasion.

The mob then dispersed and started moving into the by-lanes of the bastis. Carrying dharias and talwaars, they roamed the narrow streets, their numbers continuously increasing.

Fearing for their lives, the Muslims left their houses in a panic. About 500 Muslims took shelter at Ramdas Pillai’s home and at his brother’s house. Kanubhai, a friend of Ramdas’, also sheltered his Muslim neighbours in his house. Among the affected persons was a panic-stricken woman who had rushed out of her house leaving her three-month old daughter behind. Kanubhai went to her house and brought the baby safely to her mother. There were people crammed into every corner of the shelter houses until the following afternoon. The next day, on March 1, Pillai and his family gave the refugees tea and also arranged for lunch. According to the residents of Kisanwadi, they tried to contact the police when the incidents began but the phone was constantly engaged.

Ramdas tried to contact the police control room once more on March 1 when a woman officer answered the call. He told her that the situation in Kisanwadi was bad; that, as a woman, she should sympathise since there were Muslim women there who were vulnerable. This woman police officer responded and informed the police station. PSI Baria, PSI Solanki, Shri Damor and D Staff PSI Parmar came to Pillai’s house but they refused to provide any vehicles and Pillai had to request the local councillor, Mohanbhai Savalia for two tractors to transport the refugees to relief camps. The councillor warned him that if the tractors were damaged it would be Pillai’s responsibility. Finally, Pillai took the Muslims to Qureshi Jamaat Khana. For some of the remaining people, he arranged a bus.

Despite the presence of some policemen on the bus, it was stoned and attacked and one Rasoolbhai was hit on the head by a stone. A mob of 2,000 surrounded the bus and began pelting it with stones. The bus driver was smart; he kept on driving and managed to save his passengers’ lives. Otherwise, they would all have been burnt alive in the bus.

Several victims recognised the leaders of the mob as workers of the Bajrang Dal, whose office was located nearby. Many affected women said that these were boys who had grown up in their midst. The mobs made repeated trips to Muslim houses, looting or destroying whatever they could lay their hands on: vessels, clothes, tape recorders, TV sets, refrigerators, etc. They burnt clothes and stole any money that they found in the cupboards. The attackers stole and destroyed painstakingly collected belongings, jewellery and money belonging to poor daily wage earners.

Putting himself at great risk, Ramdas Pillai saved several people in the neighbourhood. A knife-wielding fanatic was about to lunge at Suleman, one of the residents, when Ramdas grabbed hold of the attacker and thrust him aside. A traumatised Suleman sat frozen in his chair. An old woman had been left behind in her home when her family fled to safety. The next evening Ramdas found her alone at home and took her to the Jamaat Khana.

Even two weeks later, when a team visited the area on March 14, Kisanwadi wore a haunted look, with broken down homes and shops, and burnt laaris and auto-rickshaws. The Muslim areas had been completely gutted. At Hussaini Chowk, Jhanda Chowk and Indiranagar, all that was left of their homes were smashed TV sets, shards of glass and crockery, and sewing machines, cycles and fans twisted out of shape. The mosque/madrassa had been razed to the ground. People living nearby said that it took the mob 2-3 days to break down the mosque completely. They had set fire to it the previous day but Ramdas Pillai had managed to put out the fire. The mobs then went back and attacked it a second time.

The steady looting of doorframes and windows from Muslim homes continued for months thereafter. The looters sold the material as scrap, while the police refused to intervene. In Pillai’s words, "The Muslims of Kisanwadi had no protector, they were as orphans." On several occasions during this period, Pillai had personally tried to contact Vadodara CP, DD Tuteja but received no help or favourable response.

Months after the incident, Muslim residents of Kisanwadi were still being threatened with dire consequences if they tried to return. Young women in particular were threatened with rape. Even two years after the attacks, in 2004, there are only 10-12 Muslim families living in the area. And they are too poor to find any other alternative. Most others have left the area permanently.

Today, apart from the Muslims, people like Ramdas and Laxmiben, who supported them, are also facing threats and economic boycott. The police is said to have been under a lot of pressure from members of the BJP and VHP to ostracise the Pillais. Persons who stand for peace and humanity seem to endanger the BJP-VHP project the most. The police, in turn, have tried to put pressure on Pillai to remove the names of accused mentioned in FIRs. They are targeting Pillai because of his humane behaviour and have launched a harassment campaign against the entire Pillai family.

On April 4, 2002, PI Kanani picked up his brother, Krishnamurthy Swaminathan, on a false pretext and subsequently arrested him on charges of attempt to murder (Section 307). Police officer JD Rana was heard pressurising Muslim complainants to identify Swaminathan as a perpetrator even though the Muslim complainants kept insisting that Swaminathan was in fact one of those who had saved them! Pillai believes that the police want to implicate his family because of their empathetic behaviour towards the minority community.

The family members hear of threats, second and third hand, every other day. Their daughter’s tuition teacher asked her to tell her family that he had heard a group of 10-12 men at the paan-shop saying "Ramdas ko pata do! Miyan ko bachaya!" (Kill Ramdas! He has saved Muslims!). Others heard similar rumours at the vegetable market.

In the immediate aftermath of the violence, Ramdas Pillai’s construction business came to a standstill. Two years have passed since but he has been unable to regain his original financial position. People who had been supportive and had worked with him in the past no longer support him; they avoid meeting him. He says they did not kill him because of what his family has done for many over the years and the goodwill they have earned in the area but he can clearly see the disregard in their eyes. The Pillais know what people say behind their backs: "Why should Pillai, a Brahmin, support and save Muslims? Being a Brahmin he may not kill them but why save them?"

The family is very disturbed by this attitude from people who were once close friends. It is particularly difficult for their children to come to terms with this changed social and economic status. Sometimes they do not even have enough money to pay tuition fees for the children who study in expensive English medium schools.

Laxmiben says, "It is difficult to make children understand why they should suffer for the humanitarian work their parents chose to do." Although the Pillais do not in any way regret what they did, they cannot conceal their frustration and disappointment at the response they received from more progressive people. As Ramdas says, "We do not expect any rewards from the poor Muslims whom we helped. They themselves are in a very bad way. But even rich Muslims and their institutions, or human rights institutions, have not acknowledged what we have had to sacrifice. They only felicitate prominent and well-known people but no one has ever bothered about ordinary people like us. It is difficult to sustain humanitarian activities in such an atmosphere."

Today the Pillais face threat, social ostracism and economic hardship. But notwithstanding the disappointments they have undergone, they have not stopped the good work. Laxmiben is in the forefront of the forum for communal harmony set up by a local women’s organisation and even encourages her teenage daughters to participate in their activities.  

Archived from Communalism Combat, June 2004 Year 10   No. 98, Cover Story 14

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