Sharif Abu Laith The foreigner reported.. A discussion I had this morning with two gentleman on Apostasy: One of the gents brought an argument saying that Islam is barbaric and cited apostasy as an example. He quoted Hadith and some work of Sunni and Shia scholars. After commending them on their research- I said yes Islam has a clear opinion on apostasy, however why has it been raised- when other religions have similar opinions on apostasy from their faith? Example- those that leave the Jewish faith, as quoted in Deuteronomy 13:6-11 is very harsh, very violent towards the apostate and even their families. It can be based even on simple hearsay! The punishment is more severe than apostasy in Islam. So the discussion progressed forward to Christianity and it was claimed that it is a religion based on peace and tolerance. And that it does not contain text which threatens humans due to apostasy. So i discussed the passage from scripture: Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.Matthew 10:34 And further: I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.Luke 12:49-51 The reason why Christianity or Judaism is not questioned for such volatile text, is because Christianity and Judaism are tolerated for the western mindset. Islam and its beliefs are seen as eastern, foreign and backwards. These biblical texts are uncomfortable for the western reader, just as apostasy is. The principal has to be not what we think- but where has this text come from and what mindset we are using. The modern world has made man into a moral source of defining what is barbaric and what is not. No doubt- every religion today has principles which contradict the modern way- none conform to Capitalist thinking. The issues is that instead of throwing quotes to each other- the discussion needs to be which text is actually from the creator (if any text is). The mindset has to switch to who has the ability to define if apostasy is a crime and if a punishment is just for a crime. The source of this difficult message of apostasy has to be questioned i.e if its actually from the true Creator or is from a source not worthy of following. The Muslim did not say apostasy is a crime. Allah and His Messenger said it is a crime. The source needs to be questioned... Ended with hot chocolate and baguette.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:57:44 +0000
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