Apostasy Laws in the 21st Century
While many assume that death penalties for religious belief belong to the distant past, the reality is that in 2024, thirteen countries maintain laws prescribing death for apostasy—leaving Islam. Millions of people live under legal systems where changing one's religion from Islam to anything else is a capital crime.
"Whoever changes his religion, kill him." — Sahih Bukhari 6922
This 7th-century command from Muhammad continues to shape the legal codes and judicial systems of modern nation-states, demonstrating the enduring influence of Islamic law (Sharia) in determining individual rights and freedoms.
Countries with Death Penalty for Apostasy
According to the Library of Congress and human rights organizations, the following countries have laws prescribing death for apostasy:
1. Saudi Arabia
No codified penal code, but Sharia courts routinely sentence apostates to death. In 2014, blogger Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for "insulting Islam," a charge closely related to apostasy. Possessing non-Islamic religious materials (like Bibles) is illegal. Building churches or synagogues is forbidden.
2. Iran
Article 167 of the Constitution requires judges to use Islamic sources for cases not covered by codified law. Iranian apostasy law differentiates between fitri (born to Muslim parents) and milli (converts to Islam). Both face death, but fitri apostates receive no opportunity to repent. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death in 2010 for converting from Islam to Christianity (released in 2012 after international pressure).
3. Afghanistan
Article 130 of the Constitution states that courts shall apply Sharia when no statutory law exists. Apostasy falls under Sharia. Abdul Rahman faced execution in 2006 for converting to Christianity 16 years earlier; he was only freed by being declared mentally incompetent.
4. Yemen
Article 259 of the Penal Code prescribes death for apostasy by Muslims. The law specifies a three-day waiting period for repentance, after which execution proceeds if the person refuses to return to Islam.
5. Sudan
Article 126 of the 1991 Penal Code prescribed death for apostasy. In 2014, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a Christian woman whose father was Muslim, was sentenced to death while pregnant. After international outcry, she was released. Sudan reformed this law in 2020, but enforcement remains uncertain.
6. Somalia
Article 2(1) of the Provisional Constitution declares Islam the state religion and prohibits laws contrary to Sharia. In areas controlled by Al-Shabaab, apostates are routinely executed. Even in government-controlled areas, apostasy is punishable by death under Sharia.
7. Mauritania
Article 306 of the Penal Code prescribes death for apostasy by adult Muslims. In 2014, blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed was sentenced to death for an article deemed apostasy (later commuted).
8. Qatar
While no specific apostasy law exists in the penal code, Sharia courts handle family law and can impose death sentences for apostasy under Islamic jurisprudence.
9-13. United Arab Emirates, Pakistan (in certain regions), Malaysia (in certain states), Maldives, Brunei
These countries have Sharia-based systems that, in principle or practice, allow for death sentences for apostasy, though enforcement varies.
Countries with Imprisonment for Apostasy
Many additional countries don't execute apostates but imprison them, often in brutal "rehabilitation centers" designed to force reconversion:
- Malaysia: Ethnic Malays are legally required to be Muslim. Apostates face up to three years imprisonment and "rehabilitation." Lina Joy fought unsuccessfully for six years (2001-2007) to legally leave Islam.
- Morocco: Article 220 criminalizes attempts to convert Muslims, with imprisonment of 3-6 months.
- Jordan: No specific apostasy law, but apostates can lose custody of children, inheritance rights, and marriage validity is annulled.
- Egypt: While no specific law exists, courts have jailed apostates and denied them the right to change religion on identity documents.
- Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia: Various legal and social penalties apply to apostates, including loss of civil rights.
Social Penalties Beyond Legal Sanctions
Even in countries without official apostasy laws, leaving Islam carries severe social consequences:
- Automatic divorce: In many Muslim countries, when someone leaves Islam, their marriage is automatically annulled
- Loss of children: Apostates lose custody rights because they're deemed unfit parents
- Disinheritance: Islamic law forbids Muslims from inheriting from apostates and vice versa
- Honor killings: Family members may murder apostates to "restore honor," often with community approval
- Employment discrimination: Apostates face job loss and unemployment
- Social ostracism: Complete rejection by family, friends, and community
Public Opinion on Apostasy
A 2013 Pew Research Center survey of Muslims in 39 countries revealed shocking support for executing apostates:
- Egypt: 86% support death penalty for apostasy
- Jordan: 82%
- Afghanistan: 79%
- Pakistan: 76%
- Malaysia: 62%
- Palestinian territories: 66%
- Iraq: 42%
These are not fringe opinions—they represent mainstream Muslim belief in many countries. The survey demonstrates that even where governments don't enforce apostasy laws, popular opinion often supports them.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing 57 Muslim-majority nations, has repeatedly opposed universal human rights declarations that include freedom to change religion. In 1990, the OIC adopted the "Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam," which states:
"All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia." — Cairo Declaration, Article 24
This effectively places Sharia above universal human rights, including the right to change one's religion.
Recent Cases
Asia Bibi (Pakistan, 2010-2019): A Christian woman accused of blasphemy, spent 8 years on death row before being acquitted. Upon release, she had to flee Pakistan due to death threats.
Hamza Kashgari (Saudi Arabia, 2012): Fled Saudi Arabia after tweeting thoughts about Muhammad. Deported back from Malaysia, imprisoned for 20 months.
Mohammad Reza Rahimi (Iran, 2013): Sentenced to death for "spreading corruption on earth" and apostasy through blog posts questioning Islam.
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief..."
Every country with apostasy laws violates this fundamental human right. The tension between Islamic law and universal human rights remains unresolved.
Biblical Contrast: No Earthly Punishment for Unbelief
Christianity contains no comparable command to execute apostates:
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." — Romans 12:18
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." — John 3:16-17
Jesus' method was persuasion, not coercion. When people rejected Him, He moved on to the next town—He didn't order their execution. Christianity has no equivalent to Sharia's death penalty for apostasy.
Questions to Consider
- Why do multiple countries in the 21st century still maintain medieval religious laws?
- If Islam is true, why does it need the threat of death to prevent people from leaving?
- How can Islam claim to respect human rights while denying the most fundamental freedom—freedom of conscience?
- Why do no Christian-majority nations have laws executing apostates, while many Muslim nations do?
- What does it say about a belief system that it cannot tolerate people peacefully leaving it?