Religion Sudan woman faces death for apostasy

[sunrise]

I always like to try to see the good in as many religions as possible. The idea being that the view from one person in a religion is not always the view of a religious group as a whole and once again I really hope I am right on this:

Sudan woman faces death for apostasy

A Sudanese court has sentenced a woman to hang for apostasy - the abandonment of her religious faith - after she married a Christian man.

Amnesty International condemned the sentence, handed down by a judge in Khartoum, as "appalling and abhorrent".

Local media report the sentence on the woman, who is pregnant, would not be carried out for two years after she had given birth.

Sudan has a majority Muslim population, which is governed by Islamic law.

"We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death," the judge told the woman, AFP reports.

Source: BBC News

I am unsure that there is another version of being "hung" other than the icky death part but apparently there is because of the way this is spoken of. What makes this worse is that not only will she potentially be hung despite the fact the judge is making the assumption of her religion (and lets face it - how do you prove it) but she will also be lashed one hundred times after recovering from giving birth. So not only are they proposing murdering this woman but they also want to condemn this child to a life of having no paternal mother but also could potentially live with the opinion that his or her mother was some kind of a monster.

I just hope AE can get her freed in time because in this century this just disgusts me.

 

[Hilander]

Under Islamic law this is acceptable punishment for trying to leave the religion. I'm not sure how many Islamic countries practice this but I wouldn't be surprised to find most of them do. You can also be put to death for adultery or blasphemy.

I don't have a problem with any religion but this is why a lot of people don't like Islam. They really need to join the 21st century.

I really hope they don't follow through with murdering her.

 

[Sim]

Under Islamic law this is acceptable punishment for trying to leave the religion. I'm not sure how many Islamic countries practice this but I wouldn't be surprised to find most of them do. You can also be put to death for adultery or blasphemy.

I don't have a problem with any religion but this is why a lot of people don't like Islam. They really need to join the 21st century.

I really hope they don't follow through with murdering her.

As far as I know, what you are saying is partially true, but not entirely.

From what I've read, death is indeed considered an acceptable punishment for apostasy according to several major Islamic law schools. However, there are law schools that propose a less harsh punishment, and/or tie the execution of this law to very strict conditions that are not often met. So in reality, it is relatively easy for apostates to escape the punishment in many regions (such as renouncing their apostasy in word only, and they're left alone).

Those who actually apply this law strictly are basically only the theocratic Muslim states (mostly Iran and Saudi Arabia, maybe some other Gulf states too), while the majority of Muslim countries which aren't ruled by the clerics don't do that. Also, you find radical islamist militias in some countries which execute this law as vigilantes, against the actual law of the state they're living in (so basically a form of terrorism). I think that's the case in South Sudan, which actually is not a majority Muslim country.

The largest majority Muslim country is Indonesia, and you find many religious minorities, from Christians to Buddhists, living side by side with Muslims peacefully, and the government strictly protects these minority rights. Impossible that someone would be sentenced to death for apostasy officially there. To a lesser extent, you can see that in Pakistan, athough it has been influenced by more conservative Muslims lately and has become less tolerant.

In India, which is not a majority Muslim country, but has a 10% Muslim minority, religious plurality is also common.

A different problem, though, is the ostracism apostates from Islam have to endure from their former communities and even relatives, even when they're not legally in danger. That's perhaps a problem not unique to Muslims, but to very religious Jewish and Christian families too, just that among Muslims, it's perhaps much harsher.

So yes, I totally agree, Muslims really should accept that we're in the 21st century now already.