OverviewRadical Islamists have often filed charges of
apostasy and blasphemy against secular Muslim
intellectuals. Early in the twentieth century, for
example, the charge of apostasy was brought
against prominent intellectuals such as Tàhà
£usayn and ≠Alì≠Abd al-Ràziq. It was not, how-
ever, used against Muslim women activists until
1989, the year of the apostasy suit against Salman
Rushdie, when Jordanian Islamists filed a suit for
apostasy against an outspoken Jordanian television
talk-show host, Tùjàn al-Fayßal. Since then the
charge has become almost routine. In 1990, during
the build-up to the Gulf War, the charge of apostasy
was used against Saudi women who illegally drove
their cars in protest against the ban on women driv-
ing. The women drivers were suspended from their
jobs and required to pay substantial fines. The
charge of apostasy was also used in an attempt to
discredit feminist activists in Morocco. In 1992, it
was brought against the Bangladeshi author
Taslima Nasreen who went into exile for her safety.
In 1996, Islamist lawyers sued Naßr AbùZayd,
professor of Arabic at Cairo University, for apos-
tasy. A court found him guilty and he and his wife
left Egypt to avoid being forcibly divorced. In
2001, a lawyer accused the Egyptian physician,
writer, and feminist activist Nawàl al-Sa≠dàwìof
apostasy and argued that she be divorced from her
husband. In 2002, religious conservatives charged
the interim Afghan government’s minister for
women’s affairs, Sima Samar, with blasphemy for
allegedly saying in an interview with a Persian
newspaper in Canada that she did not believe in
Sharì≠a law, which she insisted she did not say.
On 25 June 2002, Afghanistan’s supreme court
dropped the blasphemy charge citing lack of evi-
dence, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai did not
reappoint Samar minister for women’s affairs.
Many of these charges would appear to be politi-
cally motivated. What is the legal justification for
the charges?
Takfìr(pronouncement of unbelief against some-
one) is a rather imprecise term, which is often trans-
lated as “accusation of apostasy.” The terms ridda
or irtidàd(renunciation of faith), kufr, (disbelief),
and bid≠a(non-Sharì≠a innovation) do not readily
correspond to their English translations and are
often used almost synonymously. The principle
sources of Sharì≠a (Islamic law), Qur±àn, sunna(the
tradition of the Prophet), ijmà(scholarly consen-
sus), and qiyàs(analogy to other legal principles),
offer contradictory views on the question of apos-
tasy. The Qur±àn does not give a penalty for apos-
tasy and contains frequently quoted passages that
call for freedom of religion. For example, “No
compulsion is there in religion. Rectitude has
become clear from error. So whosoever disbelieves
in idols and believes in God, has laid hold of the
most firm handle, unbreaking; God is All-hearing,
All-knowing” (2:256); “Say: ‘The truth is from your
Lord; so let whosever will believe, and let whoso-
ever will disbelieve’” (18:30). On the other hand,
many other passages indicate that apostates will
meet a harsh fate. For example, “Those that believe
not in the signs of God God will not guide; there
awaits them a painful chastisement. They only
forge falsehood, who believe not in the signs of
God, and those – they are the liars. Whoso disbe-
lieves in God, after he has believed – excepting him
who has been compelled, and his heart is still at rest
in his belief – but whosever’s breast is expanded
in unbelief, upon them shall rest anger from God,
and there awaits them a mighty chastisement”
(16:107).
The sunna contains more unequivocal condem-
nations of apostasy than does the Qur±àn. Among
the most commonly cited ™adìthon apostasy are:
“The blood of a fellow Muslim should never be
shed except in three cases: that of the adulterer, the
murderer, and whoever forsakes the religion of
Islam” (Bukharì), and, “Whosoever changes his
religion, kill him” (Bukharì). The four law schools
agree that the penalty for apostasy is death, but
there are many conditions and qualifications pre-
ceding such a judgment. An apostate (murtadd)
must associate other gods alongside Allah, defame
the Prophet, treat the Qur±àn with contempt, or
deny fundamental beliefs such as the existence of
the Day of Judgment. Typically two adult witnesses
must testify as to the apostasy of the accused who
may deny the charges, proclaim his or her faith,
and/or repent and return to Islam. Usually a period
of three days is given for the accused to reconsider
and repent. There are contradictory views as toApostasy