Saudi Man Sentenced To Death For Atheism
A Saudi Arabian man who posted videos of himself disparaging the Prophet Muhammad and renouncing Islam on Twitter had his second appeal against a 2015 death sentence denied earlier this week. Ahmad Al-Shamri was arrested by Saudi Arabia’s religious police in 2014 and charged with apostasy, a crime punishable by death in the gulf monarchy, […]
Iranian-American leaves Islam, becomes a Christian
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 27, 2017 – The lead article today in Robert Spencer’s daily online publication called “Jihad Watch” has posted a story by Andrew Harrod concerning an Iranian-American, identified only as Martin, who grew up under Islam, became an atheist and is now a Christian. Martin’s testimony is not unique. In fact, authors Susan […]
Mauritania: Muslim Leaders Call Blogger to Be Executed
An influential group of Muslim clerics has called for the execution of a blogger sentenced to death in 2014 for apostasy, despite calls for clemency by human rights organizations. Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir, 29, posted a blog in December 2013 that critiqued connections between Islam and class discrimination in Mauritania, a conservative Islamic republic.
Is There a Punishment for Apostasy in Islam?
I. Introduction In Islamic legal discourse, the term used to describe apostasy is Riddah, an Arabic term which literally, means defection or backsliding1. In the context of Islamic jurisprudence, this Islamic legal term describes the action whereby an adult Muslim denounces Islam as his or her faith. There has been a wide variety of opinions […]
US report highlights blasphemy, anti-conversion laws
The official US report on international religious freedom, released on Wednesday, focuses on laws against blasphemy, apostasy, and conversion from the majority religion. The report, which the State Department submitted to Congress on Wednesday, warns against the trend of restricting religious liberty under the guise of combating violent extremism. It also underlines the practice of […]
The Islamic State is scary, in case you need a reminder
Editor’s note: This is Chatter, our morning rundown of what you need and want to know around the world. Fortunately for us all, you can have Chatter emailed to you every day. Just sign up here! NEED TO KNOW: It isn’t hard to see how the Islamic State keeps dissent in check. This week, it […]