Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam

Saeed and Saeed, whose fields are not cited, re-read the relevant foundation texts of Islam to show that the punishment of apostasy--abandoning Islam--by death cannot be justified by an appeal to the Qur'an or to the practice of the Prophet. They also place the punishment in the context of the current debate on human rights, particularly freedom of religion. Malaysia provides them a case study of how apostasy and the debate on its punishment are dealt with in a multi-religious Muslim majority society. They conclude that the punishment conflicts both with core Islamic values and with the needs of modern society. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)