Apostacy

[A_Wanderer]

A piece about the treatment of Muslims who converted to Christianity in Britain

Muslim apostates cast out and at risk from faith and family
By Anthony Browne
While Christians who turn to Islam are feted, the 200,000 Muslims who turn away are faced with abuse, violence and even murder
THE first brick was thrown through the sitting room window at one in the morning, waking Nissar Hussein, his wife and five children with a terrifying start. The second brick went through his car window.

It was a shock, but hardly a surprise. The week before, another brick had been thrown through the window as the family were preparing for bed in their Bradford home. The victim of a three-year campaign of religious hatred, Mr Hussein’s car has also been rammed and torched, and the steps to his home have been strewn with rubbish.

He and his family have been regularly jostled, abused, attacked, shouted at to move out of the area, and given death threats in the street. His wife has been held hostage inside their home for two hours by a mob. His car, walls and windows have been daubed in graffiti: “Christian bastard”.

Although some are beaten “black and blue” for their faith, others suffer even more. The family of an 18-year-old girl whom Yasmin was helping found that she had been hiding a Bible in her room, and visiting church secretly. “I tried to do as much as possible to help her, but they took her to Pakistan ‘on holiday’. Three weeks later, she was drowned — they said that she went out in the middle of the night and slipped in the river, but she just wouldn ’t have done that,” said Yasmin.

link

Most disturbing, I do often wonder are secular societies able to deal with these problems adequately ~ any interference in matters of religion are often after the fact and barely scratch the surface of what causes it. In light of attacks against Islamic apostates and on occasion critics of Islam (Theo Van Gough and the murder of the Coptic Christian Armanious family come to mind), honour killings and mysogyny is there an irreconcilable issue between these religious practices and secular society, should the law come down very hard on religious leaders who condone such deeds even if in a non-specific manner.

I think that this type of behaviour has no place in any progressive secular society and that those who commit or condone such crimes should be locked away or deported ~ freedom of religion must be preserved and it must be the duty of the government ensure that those who threaten that right are put out of the picture.

Thoughts.

 

[A_Wanderer]

There are those who still want to see this particular apostate knocked off

Iran adamant over Rushdie fatwa

Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guards have declared the death sentence on British author Salman Rushdie is still valid - 16 years after it was issued.

The military organisation, loyal to Iran's supreme leader, said the order was "irrevocable", on the eve of the anniversary of the 1989 fatwa.

The order was issued after publication of Mr Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses", condemned as blasphemous.

Iran's reformist government has in the past distanced itself from the fatwa.

The Revolutionary Guards, who answer directly to Iran's current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: "This statement, while stressing the irrevocability of the death verdict against Salman Rushdie, says history shows that the Muslims have in no era accepted their sanctities being defiled.

"The day will come when they will punish the apostate Rushdie for his scandalous acts and insults against the Koran and the Prophet (Mohammed)," they said, two days before the anniversary of the order.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260599.stm

 

[XHendrix24]

This kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach. I mean, wasn't Islam supposed to be a peaceful religion? What happened?

All of these death threats, and violence, and killings in the name of religion. It's a damn shame.

 

[U2democrat]

All major religions are supposed to be peaceful. It any organization, be it religious, political whatever, anything will have its violent extremists, and the extremists grab all the attention away from the larger, more moderate and sane groups.

 

[XHendrix24]

All major religions are supposed to be peaceful. It any organization, be it religious, political whatever, anything will have its violent extremists, and the extremists grab all the attention away from the larger, more moderate and sane groups.

Oh, well of course. I wasn't implying that all Islamic people are violent people. I'm sure most of them are peaceful people. Trust me, if it were Christians, Hindus, or Jews doing this type of thing, I would be equally outraged.

It just seems that the radical Islamic groups are more prevelent in the world today. And when any kind of violent radical group becomes this widespread, it's a scary thing.

 

[U2democrat]

It is scary.

 

[verte76]

In the aftermath of 9/11 there is more media coverage of honor killings and other things that Islamic fanatics do. I think the press was less interested in this sort of thing before that, and certain people didn't want to offend our rich "buddies" in Saudi Arabia and this kind of thing. Now the cat's out of the bag. This has always happened, still is happening, and unfortunately will always happen, just because there are always going to be fanatics and all sorts of nutjobs out there.

 

[Judah]

The Koran itself says nothing about killing apostates. All the verses say, basically, that God will be some pissed off if this happens and that apostates will not get in heaven...but even then, if they repent, they'll be fine.

The death penalty for apostasy in Islamic societies originated after the early caliphate when the Ummayads wanted to hold onto power and control their masses more...they came up with all sorts of crazy interpretations of the Koran. Now all this middle-ages shit happens under the guise of "Sharia Law."

Just more evidence that Islam needs leaders who want to bring the religion out of the dark ages. And it can be done without desecrating the Koran. But, given the power structures in countries that are Islamic, it's in no one's interest (political, economic, social or religious) to start liberalizing Islam.

Regards,

A very very happy apostate