Muslims Must Affirm freedom

Ref: Article in Al-Jazeera listed below

Muslims affirm freedom of faith.
PRESS RELEASEWednesday,
June 27, 2007

Contact:
Mike Mohamed Ghouse – MikeGhouse@gmail.com
Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq - farooqm59@yahoo.com
Websites: http://www.apostasyandislam.com/ and http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/

Muslims must affirm the freedom of faithUnder the revised law passed by Kelantan state, Malaysia, anyone found guilty faces a maximum penalty of six lashes with a rattan cane, five years in prison and a fine of almost $3,000. This law is not in synch with the freedom of faith in Islam.

Qur'aan: al-Baqarah 002:256 "Let there be no compulsion in religion.”Qur'aan: al-Kafirun 109:006 "To you your religion, and to me my religion"We believe that, God is the master of the Day of Judgment, he alone we worship and he is the only one who can judge us on that appointed day.

Qur'aan: al-Fatihah 001:004 "Master of the Day of Judgment" and
001:005 "You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.

"Freedom of faith means not only freedom to choose a faith, but also freedom to change one's faith. While Islam regards apostasy a grave sin, but that is between God and the respective individual. When it is a matter of simple apostasy, i.e, merely changing one's faith without any aggression or treason against an Islamic State or Muslims, the principle of freedom of faith in Islam requires that such apostate must be allowed to exercise their God-given freedom.

An encouraging thing is that the tide of opinion among Muslims is turning away from the traditional view (The traditional position based on unwarrantedly mixing the matter of simple apostasy with treason or aggression) to one that is in consonance with the message of the Qur'an and the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad.Now, there is dedicated blog regarding the issue of apostasy and Islam, which presents a more contemporary position of Muslim scholars, academics and even Imams affirming the freedom of faith and the freedom to change one's faith, when it involves simple apostasy, not apostasy-cum-treason.
Please visit http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com/.

There is no worldly punishment or consequence specified in the Qur'an regarding simple apostasy. Indeed, the affirmation of freedom of faith in the Qur'an is explicit. There is also no precedence during the time of the Prophet that anyone was punished solely for apostasy.While there might be questions or issues about the traditional view, Muslims are to seek guidance and uphold the teachings of the Qur'an and the legacy of the Prophet.

While we as Muslims invite our sister-in-humanity Lina Joy [Azlina Jailani] back to Islam, we unequivocally urge Malaysian government, court and the people to affirm the freedom of faith in Islam and not to stand in the way of her exercising her God-given freedom.For more information about the issue of apostasy and Islam,

please visit http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com. Also, Muslims (especially, scholars, intellectuals, academics, imams, professionals) are urged read a Statement presented at the blog and be counted among the signatories affirming the freedom of faith in Islam.
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/05/malaysian-apostasy-case.html

Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BC3FDD7B-66C9-467D-AD7D-F77EAB74B27D.htm
Tougher law for Malaysia converts

Kelantan is the only state in Malaysia ruled by the opposition PAS party [Reuters]
The only opposition-ruled state in Malaysia has approved stiffer penalties to deter people from trying to convert Muslims to other faiths.

Under the revised law passed by Kelantan state, anyone found guilty faces a maximum penalty of six lashes with a rattan cane, five years in prison and a fine of almost $3,000.
Kelantan is the only Malaysian state led by the opposition Islamist party, PAS.

Hassan Mohamood, who heads Kelantan's Islamic affairs committee, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the stiffer laws are useful "as a form of deterrence".
The previous maximum penalty was two years in prison and a fine of RM5,000 ($1,400).

Proselytising of Muslims is forbidden under federal laws, but the recent case of Line Joy, a Malay-Muslim woman who sought legal recognition of her right to pick her religion of choice, raised fears among some in Malaysia over mass conversion.

Attempts to convert Muslims to other faiths are rare, and people found guilty face prison terms in most states in the country where nearly 60 per cent of its 27 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims.

Religious conflicts

The amended penalties in Kelantan, where PAS has been in control since 1990, are believed to be the heaviest nationwide.

In Malaysia, Islam comes under state-level jurisdiction and religious authorities often send Malay Muslims who try to convert out for counselling and rehabilitation.

Some have also been imprisoned for apostasy.

In the Lina Joy case, the woman who was born to Muslim parents failed to get the country's highest civil court to recognise her right to choose her own faith.

The Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of worship for all citizens but the country's parallel Islamic legal system often gives rise to religious conflicts.

Malaysia has large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities that mostly practice Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.