By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer
One of Egypt’s most senior Muslim clerics has raised controversy by saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims who abandon their religion, prompting an outcry from conservatives insisting Islamic law requires such apostates be killed.
The editorial in The Washington Post came from Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, who is the highest official authority for issuing fatwas, or religious edicts.
The flap reflects the sharp, ongoing debate among Muslims over interpretation of Islamic law in an era when many in the West and some in the Islamic world blame hardline ideology for fueling militancy and terrorism.
Gomaa’s comments came in an editorial he contributed to a Post series on Muslim voices explaining their faith.
“The essential question before us is can a person who is Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can, because the Quran says, ‘Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion,'” he wrote, citing from Islam’s holy book.
“If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment,” Gomaa wrote it the article, published in The Post last weekend. “The matter is left until the Day of Judgment, and it is not to be dealt with in the life of this world.” [more]
The Islamic Workplace 
February 14th, 2008 → 11:03 am
[…] When quoting hadiths, it is very important to take them in context to what the Qu’ran also says. The Qur’an as the Word of God always supercedes the hadith. Please read the following post from my blog which clarifies the Muslim position on apostates and choice of one’s religion (as stated in the Qur’an): https://makkah.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/egypts-grand-mufti-comes-out-against-the-killing-of-apostates… […]
April 23rd, 2008 → 3:00 pm
[…] some good news on the rights of apostates: Egypt’s Grand Mufti comes out against the killing of apostates by Omar Sinan, Associated Press, as copied on a blog on 26, 2007. On the other hand, here on […]