In India, the line between Hinduism and Islam is not all that fine, thanks to centuries of familial bonds and religious syncretism.
Latest Updates: apostasy RSS
-
aziz
-
thabet
The NYT’s public editor undermines Edward Luttak’s piece on Obama being an apostate under Islamic law.
Luttwak should have no credibility left to speak on such matters.
(Via AE.)
-
aziz
Malaysia Matters is a new web site about news from Malaysia, described as “America’s unknown ally and its quiet friend.” They’re on Twitter, too.
Here’s what they had to say about the recent apostasy case. Very encouraging.
-
willow
More on the Obama apostasy smear: Eteraz weighs in.
No call to prayer in the ear, not raised as a Muslim, born to an atheist father, and then abandoned to a Christian mother both by father and his family, equals not Muslim. Obama is right to say he had no religion until he became a Christian.
-
razib
president apostate? the column reflects accurately i think the rather primitive attitude toward compulsion in religion (or lack of) in most muslim nations. but like many of these sorts of analyses it neglects psychological and social sophistication; the only other apostate (from islam) head of state who visited the arab world was carlos menem, and i don’t think there were major issues with assassination here. additionally, it tends to be a fact that apostasy and blasphemy laws in the muslim world generally end up enforced for two reasons: 1) the non-muslim is too vocal in proclaiming their faith or even has the temerity to attempt to convert muslims, 2) or, they are marginalized in some way so that these laws are used to screw them over (e.g., they’re insane, they have property you want, etc.).
-
razib
aprosos of the apostasy post below, God’s Rule - Government and Islam: Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought :
The Prophet was remembered as havinggiven them the choice between conversion and death. But it was only Arab pagans that he had eradicated: did non-Arab peers have to be similarly treated? After some debate, the jurists decided that the Zoroastrians…were an exception, they had once possessed a book…and/or that the Prophet had accepted jizya from Zoroastrians (in eastern Arabia)…But the jurists could not agree on other pagans. Some took the Prophet’s eradication of Arab idolaters to mean that all pagans had to be given the choice between Islam or death, whatever their ethnicity. This was the position of the Shafi’ites…Others argued that the Arabs were a special case and that it was the Prophet’s treatment of Zoroastrians which had universal significance: all non-Arab pagans should be treated as Zoroastrains. That was the position of the Malikis and Hanafis…aruging that all unbelievers were eligible for dhimmi status, full stop.the hanafi position is one reason adduced as to why this school is popular in the turkic and south asian world; it was more practical since non-muslims were thick on the ground. but it is interesting to note that shafis are dominant in southeast asia, where there are large non-muslim pagan minorities (buddhists and hindus).
-
aziz
A Malaysian court has permitted a woman to renounce her conversion to Islam, in effect allowing apostasy.
