Muslims who convert risk being killed

At one level, the heading tells us nothing new; it is a sad fact in many parts of the world. What is new is the scenario where an estimated 3,000 in Britain could be at risk. Now, stated baldly, like that, it seems to be scaremongering. And yet, perhaps Michael Nazir-Ali (whose name tells you something of the personal stake he has in this matter) has recently spoken of his concerns, and note that there is a real transferable precedent: "The bishop warns that Muslims who switch faiths in Britain could be killed if the current climate continues. 'We have seen honour killings have happened, and there is no reason why this kind of thing cannot happen.'"
And we should remember that this is backed up by fiqh in all four main schools of interpretation."Islamic texts sold in Britain ... say the punishment for apostasy is death - according to all four schools of Islamic jurisprudence. One text called for Muslims to cut off the head of those who reject Islam."
Now there is a reassuring response to this: "Sheikh Mogra, a senior member of the Muslim Council for Britain, told Dispatches: 'We live in a country where we respect people's choices. It is not right for any British Muslim to harm in any way whatsoever; to bully them, to intimidate them, to threaten them, is all against Muslim law.'"
The problem with that answer is that it is a tactical answer not one of principle. The Sheikh is not contradicting sharia but using a different set of principles for circumstances where Muslims are not in power: it is a tactic to be employed pending Muslim dominance. What we need from major Muslim scholars is a new hermeneutic to support a principled freedom of religion and we need to see Muslim-majority governments acting on the basis of it. Until that happens we should take note of the experience of a convert away from Islam in Bradford, "They told me categorically had I been in an Islamic country - Pakistan, Middle East - that they would actually be the first to chop off my head", this kind of attitude needs to be delegitimised by ulema with sound and credible appeals to Islamic sources. Can it be done? I hope so, but my reading of the principles of Islamic fiqh seem to show that they've painted themselves into a corner on this and related issues. It's a case where I really wish that some of the counterfactual histories could have been the actual history.
Bishop warns that Muslims who convert risk being killed | UK News | The Observer: