With the story of Rifqa Bary, a 17 year old who converted from Islam to Christianity, all over the news the subject of apostasy in Islam has taken center stage. If you are unfamiliar with the Rifqa Bary case I invite you read my previous articles on the subject.
Part I & Part II
As with any discussion of Islamic Law, I begin with my standard disclaimer, Caveat Emptor. Buyer beware. This is an ambitious task for a layman such as me, and I am unqualified. I firmly believe that civil disagreement is the crucible of Truth, and that reason and evidense are it's flame. In that light logic forces me to take this position. I consider it Truth, at least until a more convincing argument presents itself, and I swear by God, I invite such evidence. As I have explained before, there is no compulsion in religion. Everything right and True is from Allah.
To be clear, in Rifqa Bary's case the authentic, or inauthentic teachings of Islam have no relevance. What is relevant is whether or not Muhammad, her father, puts the girl in any real danger. I will stand by the reports of the Florida and Ohio law enforcement agencies who investigated the allegations, which are currently sealed by the judge but will become public after September 13th. As always I believe the only just solution is emancipation. I think it's silly that we consider 17 year olds children, and I can't morally advocate using state coercion to place her back with her family against her will. Set her free and let her associate with her family on a voluntary basis.
In the original video which aired August 10th Rifqa said to the camera and to the world, "If they love Allah more than me, they have to do it (kill her). It’s in the Quran." It is a widely accepted misconception that the Quran calls for the death penalty for apostasy. This is mostly claimed by Christians and Orientalists, and it’s utterly false. No such verse exists, and I challenge you to bring it. The Quran speaks repeatedly of people returning to disbelief after believing (2:217, 3:86-90, 4:137, 9:66, 9:74, 16:106-109, 4:88-91, 47:25-27), but never says they should be punished in this life. Let’s take a look.
Quran 3:86-87
86- How shall God guide those who reject Faith after they accepted it and bore witness that the Messenger was true and that Clear Signs had come unto them? but God guides not a people unjust. -87- For such the reward is that on them rests the curse of God, of His angels, and mankind combined.
Hmmm… so curse them… not kill them.
Quran 4:137
137- Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe again and again reject faith, and go on increasing in disbelief, God will not forgive them nor guide them nor guide them on the way.
Maybe you can explain to me how a person enters Islam, and then leaves it, then enters again, and then leaves it again… if you’re supposed to kill them when they left the first time.
Quran 16:106-109
106- Any one who, after accepting faith in God, utters Disbelief, - except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith - but such as open their breast to Disbelief, on them is Wrath from God, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty. -107- This is because they love the life of this world better than the Hereafter: and God will not guide those who reject Faith. -108- Those are they whose hearts, ears, and eyes God has sealed, and they take no heed. -109- Without doubt, in the Hereafter they will perish.
The “dreadful penalty” for apostasy is God’s to bring in the Hereafter.
The only time the Quran ever says anything about killing apostates it is in reference to a specific event in the life of Muhammad. While the Muslims were in Mecca there was great persecution at the hands of the pagans, and the Quran spoke at length about hypocrites among the Muslims who were spies from the pagans. Then the command was given for the Muslims to flee Mecca and migrate to Medina. This migration revealed the hypocrites, who refused to leave Mecca. Permission was given to fight those who left Islam and joined pagan tribes in aggressing against the Muslims.
Quran 4:89-91
89- They desire that you should reject Faith, as they do, that you may be like them. So, take not friends from among them until they flee in the way of God (to Medina). But if they turn back (to Mecca), seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not friends nor helpers from among them. -90- Except those who join a people with whom you have a treaty of peace, or those who approach you with hearts restraining them from fighting you or fighting their own people. Had God willed He would have given them power over you, and they would have fought you. Therefore if they withdraw from you, but fight you not, and offer you peace, then God has opened no way for you to war against them.
In this passage the apostates are broken into three categories.
1) Those allied with a tribe that has a peace treaty with the Mulsims.
2) Those who want to keep neutrality in the conflict.
3) Those allied with a tribe engaged in hostilities towards the Muslims.
As everywhere else in the Quran, permission is only given to fight those who aggressed on you first. And this verse clearly prohibits Muslims from fighting those who left Islam if they wish to live in peace or neutrality.
But then we get that famous Hadith, favorite of Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller and Tom Trento, that unholy trinity of islamophobia.
"WHOEVER CHANGED HIS RELIGION, KILL HIM."
Whoa! Well that’s problematic isn’t it! It seems perfectly clear… kill the apostates, right? Heck, it kinda means kill converts too! I guess I'm not safe in Ohio, because I had to change my religion in order to convert to Islam. Well… this Hadith is unreliable for a number of reasons… first we’ve gotta read the whole thing:
Bukhari Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57:
Narrated by 'Ikrima:
Some atheists were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his religion, kill him.'"
This Hadith appears, with minor variations, in all the major hadith collections (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Abu Da'ud and Ibn Majah), but always with the same chain of narration. The hadith is narrated only ‘Ikrima in the second generation, and only by Ibn ‘Abbas in the first generation. The only person in the chain who ever met the Prophet is Ibn Abbas, who was 10 years old when he converted and 13 when the Prophet died. Further, examining the reliability of the narrators you’ll find the many scholars considered Ikrima a liar, or at the very least untrustworthy. He was known to sympathize with the extremists of his day known as the Khawarij, who despised Ali.
So, to believe that this was an authentic teaching from Muhammad you’d have to believe that he gave a law prescribing the death penalty to a child, and no one else, not even Ali, who had been his companion for 23 years. And you'd have to believe that the boy tells no one except a liar.... and this is how the law is transmitted. But it’s not even transmitted well. In this narration the word for atheists is “Zanadiqa” which is not Arabic but Persian. In another it says, “those who abandoned Islam” and in another it says, “people from al-Zatt who worshipped idols”. These narrations of the same event are irreconsilable. An atheist can not be an idol worshiper. It's far easier for me to believe that Ikrima invented this out of whole cloth to discredit the authority of Ali.
This becomes obvious if you read the same Hadith in the collection of Abu Da'ud, which ends differently.
Abu Da`ud 3787
Ayyub informed us from ‘Ikrima that that ‘Ali, peace be upon him, burned some people who abandoned Islam. This reached Ibn ‘Abbas and he said: I would not have burnt them with fire. Indeed, the Messenger of God said: ‘Do not punish with the punishment of God.’ I would have killed them in accordance with the word of the Messenger of God. For, surely the Messenger of God said: ‘Whoever changed his religion kill him’.” This reached ‘Ali, peace be upon him, and he said: ‘Woe to Ibn ‘Abbas’.
It’s a Hadith about a rumor that Ali has been burning apostates (which never happened by the way) and when the rumor reached Ali, he says “woe” to the person spreading the rumor. Ibn 'Abbas was vindicated however. It was reported by Abdullah bin al-Harith that when he visited ‘Ali, he was shocked to find ‘Ikrima bound to a post outside the door of ‘Ali’s house. When he asked ‘Ali regarding this ‘Ali explained by saying: “This wicked man attributes false traditions to Ibn ‘Abbas." This Hadith is now what it was then... a vicious rumor.
Unfortunately the misconception that the punishment for apostasy is death is common, even among Muslims. In reality this ruling comes from an age when apostasy and treason were synonymous. In deed, to convert to Christianity in a Muslim country at the height of the Crusades would have likely cost you your head. Robert Spenser and the anti-Muslim brain trust like to over simplify Islamic law by implying that the opinion is unanimous across all scholars but this is simply false. There has always been a difference of opinion. Many scholars, most notably Ibn Taymiyyah, draw a distinction between minor apostasy and major apostasy. Minor apostasy, which consists only in leaving Islam carries no punishement, while major apostasy, which includes some kind of espianage or treason, deserved punishment. Hundreds of scholars confirm this.
As I discussed in my previous article on compulsion in religion , actions which are coerced have no moral value. And the aim of Islam is to place moral value in every action… so how can coercion be virtuous? What greater coercive force is there than the threat of death? You do nothing but create hypocrites by threatening apostates with death.
It is a basic principle in Islam that you should be strict with yourself, and soft with others. If there is any difference of opinion amongst qualified scholars we are supposed to give our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt. In my opinion if even one qualified scholar disagrees with such a ruling that is doubt enough to never carry it out. I stand with our mother Aisha who said, "It is preferable for the ruler to pardon mistakenly than to punish mistakenly."
So, I hope that's been helpful. Remeber everything right and True is from Allah. Any mistake is from myself. May He forgive me for my deviances, and may He manifest the Truth on your tongue, my dear reader, so that I may accept it.
Astaghfirullah, wa alhamdulillah, wa lahaula wala quwata illa billah.
http://www.answering-christianity.com/apostates.htm
http://www.islamicperspectives.com/Apostasy1.htm
http://islamicperspectives.com/PunishmentOfApostasy_Part2.html
Subhanallah!
There is no might or power on earth or in Heaven greater than God.
I'm way out on a limb here, but I think I figured it out! Tell me if this makes sense... if you're just tuning in go back and read Rifqa Part I: The Xenos Cult
It's 2:44 am, and I haven't slept, but the trial is today and I don't have time to polish this, so here's some real gonzo journalism. I do this all for you, my dear reader.
The Franklin County Children Services in Ohio conducted a nearly month long investigation and concluded that the allegations against Muhammad Bary were unsubstantiated and it was safe for Rifqa to return home. Although they recommended therapy for the girl, and Muhammad agreed the whole family could use counseling.
That's bad for the anti-Muslim narrative, so John Stemberger filed a memorendum basically saying, "No it's not the Dad... it's the whole community!" Basically the Noor Islamic center is connected to Dr. Saqr, who's connected to Salah Soltan, who's connected to Al-Qaradawi, who's connected to Al Qaeda and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and all the evil people in the world. He actually said this is the memorendum. "The Muslim Brotherhood... an international organization responsible for birthing virtually every Islamic terrorist organization in the world!"
Therefore Ohio is not safe. Carry out that arguement all 10,000 Muslims at the Noor Islamic Center Community are terrorists by association. Let's just take away all their kids and give them to good evangelical families? I'll tell you one thing reader... if she's not safe in Ohio, she's not safe in Florida. All it took was a little creative Googling and I was able to determine the likely address where she's staying... But I digress.
Oh my dear reader! I can play the association game. Check this out...
My contacts in Ohio on the case say that Xenos materials and a Flash drive containing the diary of Pastor Brian Williams were found in her bedroom and were turned over to police. They also confirm that I was right about the man in the room in the video as I described in Part I. That he was bald, had a goatee. They tell me he was also at the hearing on the 21st and addressed Muhammad Bary is "Brother" like a Muslim. But this guy was not a Muslim. He was interviewed after the trial in Florida twice by CBN:
Florida Judge Protects Terrified Christian Convert
Rifqa Bary - Prisoner of Islam
This guy is Jamal Jivanjee. Jamal Jivanjee claims to be a Muslim apostate from Columbus. He befriended Rifqa in Columbus long before she fled to Florida. He was also at the court house Friday August 21st. Bald guy with a goatee.
Ok... check this out.
If he's the coach in the first video, that means he went with Rifqa from Ohio to Florida. And that means that this is probably the guy that Lorenz is protecting when he says he doens't want to reveal who bought her the ticket.
"The pastor won't say who bought Rifqa's ticket. He is trying to protect the person" ~ Orlando Sentinal
I'd even bet (if I were a betting man) that there is no ticket and Jamal drove her the whole way.
But it get's better...
Jamal Jivanjee is on the board of directors of "illuminate" and on his bio he says he's a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA where he studied Pastoral ministry. The President of the Liberty Theological Seminary and Professor of Apologetics at Liberty University is Ergun Mehmet Caner. Ergun Caner was interviewed by the Florida Baptist Witness early in the Rifqa contraversy but he dropped out of the frey.
Ergun claims to be another Christian convert from Islam from Columbus Ohio, and claims that he lives his life with a fatwa against his life from that community, which makes him uniquely qualified to speak about this case. This man is a complete charlatan! He is a fraud! He is a liar! A dajjal! I strongly suggest you take a look at this video. It's the first in an eight part series.
Ergun Mehmet Caner is FAKE apostate. He and as his brothers are these Christians that go around claiming to be ex-Muslim preaching lies about how aweful being a Muslim is. If you didn't watch the series here's some highlights. He claims his father built that mosque, and that he was trained to be the muadhin, but he misprounounces it! In part 2 he says the Shahada is "bismillakh aman arakhim mukhamdu alham arakhman arakhim." In part 3 he says that Ramadan is 40 days, and he says, "Jesus strapped himself to a cross so I wouldn't have a stap a bomb to myself." And he's always careful to point out that apostates risked their culture, families and lives for Jesus by leaving Islam. Wallahi! This man was never a Muslim.
So we're dealing with liars. And what's worse, they train other fake apostates! This is the sourse. This is the propagandist. The brainwasher. Ergun trains anti-Muslim propagandists. Jamal is a student of Ergun. Rifqa is a "friend" of Jamal. These are the people who turned typical arguments between a completely westernized teenage cheerleader and her liberal parents into death threats and honor killing from Islamic jihadists in Rifqa's mind.
Alhamdullilah! That's all I have for now. It's not proof yet, but I think this raises some serious questions about how all these people are connected. It's still just a theory. But I think it's a stronger chain of reasoning than "They're all TERRORISTS!" Hopfully it comes full circle in the trial today.
More to come. Please subscribe.
May Allah guide the course of this trial into the light of Truth. May He expose the liars and debase them. Ya Allah! Be Just with them. May He forgive you and me for our inequities. Everything right and true is from Allah. Any mistake is from myself. Astaghfirullah, wa alhamdulillah, wa lahaula wala quwata illa billah.
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