While those who convert to Islam, ... can publicly celebrate their new religion, those whose faith goes in the other direction face persecution. ... a growing number of former Muslims in Britain ... face not just being shunned by family and community, but attacked, kidnapped, and in some cases killed. There is even a secret underground network to support and protect those who leave Islam. One estimate suggests that as many as 15 per cent of Muslims in Western societies have lost their faith, which would mean that in Britain there are about 200,000 apostates.For police, religious authorities and politicians, it is an issue so sensitive that they are accused by victims of refusing to respond to appeals for help.
I have come across estimates for the numbers of secret Christians in Muslim majority lands, based on correspondances with Gospel radio stations and the like: there are potentially significant numbers who are in fear for their liberties and lives. This is the 400kg gorilla in Dar al Islam ...
I must say that I do want to hear what some of these high profile converts to Islam say about those who wish to take a journey out ... they should feel rather more acutely the unfairness of the traditional Muslim position.
Anyway, whatever, we should be pursuing good community relations with Muslims because, for one reason, it will help Christians and new Christians in particular in Muslim majority areas and also make religion less of a tender spot, and it could contribute to Muslims thinking more justly about this matter.
It is a problem that, with the crisis of identity in Islam since September 11, seems to be getting worse as Muslims feel more threatened.
PS you might want to check out this development of fiqh in the USA.
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online:
Filed in: Islam, religion, Christian, apostasy, conversion
2 comments:
We do not have a 'crisis of identity'. I do not have that at all. But, it frightens me to see the kind of hatred and condemnation Islam is having of late.
It's good, though not unexpected to hear that the identity crisis thing is not across the board. However it is almost certainly too strong to say 'we' if you are including every single person of a Muslim background. Let's put it this way, I have met and continue to meet many people who self identify as in some way Muslim who show the symptoms of identity crisis. That's not a condemnatory observation.
Clearly, from my post, I also am concerned at the hatred directed at Muslims because of their religious affiliation. However, what I find more worrying is that you pick that out of my post and don't comment from a Muslim perspective on the substantive issue of reciprocity in regard to conversion ... I hope that there is something constructive to be offered that would be hopeful to, for example, Christians in Pakistan or working in, say, Saudi Arabia ...
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