Is There Freedom of Religion in Islam?
Young TikTokers flaunting newly purchased Korans are trending these days so I purchased one to check the translation.(i) Unsurprisingly, it was greatly simplified and in it Koran 4:34 now reads that it is permissible to ‘spank’ rather than ‘beat’ your wife
While it is well known that to join Islam, it is only necessary to say the Shahada – ‘there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger’ (the 1st pillar of Islam and whispered into the ear of a newborn child) it is more important to know that leaving Islam is an entirely different matter.
Foundational Islamic doctrine, the ordained way of sharia, makes it clear that to apostatize (which can also be accomplished by not attending to obligatory prayers) is punishable by death. Easy to join, not so easy to leave.
One such case that made headlines recently was that of a planned attack on a well known woman in England (ii). The man who was arrested had converted to Islam, while she had converted away from Islam, and yet Islamic doctrine maintains that her decision, unlike his own, was deserving of death.
It is not only sharia that levies such a stiff penalty. There are thirteen Islamic majority countries that impose capital punishment for apostasy from Islam or blasphemy. (ii)
An oft quoted sura is Koran 109 ‘to you is your religion and to me is mine’ revealed in Mecca before Mohammed’s migration to Medina and the beginning of the Islamic calendar. This part of the Koran is not violent and there was no armed jihad prior to the migration.
However it is on the basis of Koran 2:106 that the later verses are considered better or stronger. “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it.” A later verse is Koran 8:12 “…I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."
In addition, Koran 4:80 states that “He who obeys the Messenger [Mohammed] has obeyed Allah…” and there are numerous hadith where Mohammed states quite clearly that apostates should be killed:
Dawud 4360 When a slave runs away and reverts to polytheism, he may lawfully be killed.
Bukhari 7157 "He embraced Islam and then reverted back to Judaism." Mu`adh said, "I will not sit down unless you kill him (as it is) the verdict of Allah and His Apostle.
Bukhari 6922 '…Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'
According to Islamic doctrine, Muslim children have no freedom of choice in their religion. Also, in the hadith Mohammed said that all children are born Muslim, it is their parent that corrupts them to become Christians, Jews or pagans (Bukhari 1359)
After the death of Mohammed many people tried to leave Islam, resulting in the ‘Ridda’ (Apostasy) wars and thousands were slaughtered. (iv)
The constitutions of non-Islamic countries and the universal declaration of human rights demand freedom of religion for their constituents. Other belief systems may not be so easy to join, but can be left without consequence and are therefore compatible with this requirement: Islam is not.
Something to think about.
Sources:
(i) Tiktokers
(ii) Tiktokers Koran https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54628184-the-qur-an
(iii) Countries where apostasy is death: https://www.indy100.com/news/the-countries-where-apostasy-is-punishable-by-death-7294486
(iv) Apostasy and Ridda wars: https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Islam_and_Apostasy
Koran 2:106 https://legacy.quran.com/2/106
Koran 4:34 https://legacy.quran.com/4/34
Koran 4:80 https://legacy.quran.com/4/80
Koran 4:103 https://legacy.quran.com/4/103
Koran 109:1-6 https://legacy.quran.com/109
Koran 8:12 https://legacy.quran.com/8/12
Koran 8:17 https://legacy.quran.com/8/17
Dawud 4360 https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4360
Bukhari 7157 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7157
Bukhari 6922 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6922
Bukhari 1359 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1359
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf
Video: Tiktokers. Is there freedom of religion in Islam?
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