Islam: non reciprocity in conversion reprised

A comment on my posting on the issue led to this site with a ruling on apostasy. The commenter says that this is the classic Islamic position on the matter. It is useful to have something like this. I'm not qualified to comment on whether my correspondant is right in saying this is a classic position from a reputable scholar, I can only assume that it is.

In my reply I wrote the following:
I'm concerned that even with this kind of approach which attempts to be more humane [implicitly recognising that there is a problem in 'common humanity' and 'natural justice' terms], we are left with something that has the effect of legitimising violence or severe treatment against those who become persuaded that Islam is not sufficiently right for them to continue in it.

"[an apostate] in the midst of a close-knit Muslim society is rightly considered an overt threat to that body and the body has a right to defend itself"

There's a host of issues in that, isn't there? Why should an apostate be automatically considered a threat to society? You are, in effect saying, that someone who converts, say, to Christianity is likely to become a violent drunken child-molester with serial killer tendencies? Or that they are likely to go against their faith which encourages them to seek the welfare of the society in which they find themselves? What are you saying, by implication to dhimmis in Muslim societies? No wonder they feel threatened.

In any case the argument relies on the myth of a close knit Muslim society [with its clan feuds, vitriolic disputes between different traditions of Islam etc] for a legitimacy which seems therefore spurious.

'A right to defend itsely' should, surely, be proportionate? I can't see that this is proportionate or just.

I think I should add that it continues, therefore, to seem to me that the fundamental problem is with the traditional hermeneutic and whether fiqh is sufficiently flexible to allow a fairly new approach, since there does not appear to be any way round this in terms of synchronising the 'classic' methodologies with natural justice on this one. I may be wrong; I would be delighted to find evidence show that natural justice and Islamic jurisprudence can meet together and kiss on this issue ...
Various Questions (3) Answered by Shaykh Gibril Haddad
Filed in: Islam, apostasy, fiqh