the death penalty on Muslims who leave the faith?
Islam makes great use of fear to restrain its adherents and
to influence the conversion of unbelievers. As the Koran
states: ‘‘Anyone who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters
Unbelief — except under compulsion, his heart remaining
firm in Faith — but such as open their breast to Unbelief, on
them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful
Penalty’’ (Sura 16:106). In this life that penalty is a sentence
of death, whenever and wherever Muslims are able and
willing to carry it out. According to one respected manual of
Islamic law, someone who forsakes Islam ‘‘deserves to
die.’’[39]
From the earliest days of Muhammad’s career until
today, the sword has spread Islam. Compare this reliance on
the ‘‘fear of the sword’’ with the Christian understanding of
the role of ‘‘fear’’ of God (not man) as a starting point
toward growth and freedom. In Christianity, ‘‘fear of God’’
is understood as reverence for God and His commandments;
it is not a ‘‘servile’’ or ‘‘cowering’’ kind of fear — it is one
of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (see CCC 1831). In the
Bible, we read of the hope and promise that as one grows in
love of God and neighbor, human fear will be removed by
love, and one will live in the peace that surpasses
understanding: ‘‘Perfect love casts out all fear’’ (1 Jn 4:18).
Surprising as it may be to non-Muslims, many Muslims
have no trouble accepting the conflicting concepts of Islam
as a religion of peace yet one that mandates death for
apostates. They assume that the truth of Islam is so obvious