Islamic laws dealing with apostasy should be rethought and revised as there is nothing in the Quran which applies a death sentence for an apostate, says renowned Turkish writer and journalist Mustafa Akyol.

Mustafa ( left ) said well-known scholars like Tunisia’s Islamic leader Rashid al-Ghannushi also argued that such injunctions in Islam - which threatens individual freedom - need to be rethought and revised.

“First of all, they are not from the Quran, it comes from a historical context which is totally different from the world we live in today, so we need to re-interpret these injunctions instead of imitating them blindly,” said Mustafa during a forum entitled ‘Is Liberty an Islamic Value’, organised by the Penang Institute in George Town on Tuesday.

In the forum, Bukit Bendera parliamentarian and Penang Institute executive director Zairil Khir Johari addressed the 80-odd crowd, while state executive councillor on health, agriculture and rural development and Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin gave the opening speech.

In some Muslim nations, apostasy in Islam is a crime punishable by death. In Malaysia, in 1998, the government declared that apostates would not be punished as long they do not defame Islam. However, it imposes restrictions on “deviant” groups like the Shiites.

In some states, when applications are made to leave the religion, rehabilitation is imposed.

However, Mustafa argued that the Holy Book is clear on the fact that there is no compulsion in religion.

“So, if there is no compulsion in religion, why do people try to keep Muslims inside Islam by compulsion? Why do they say, if you leave Islam, we will kill you?” he asked.

“What can they achieve if that person does not believe in the faith any more, what can be achieved except to make him or her a hypocrite?” he further asked.

Mustafa is author of the 2011 internationally acclaimed book ‘Islam Without Extremes’ and his work has been published by leading publications like The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Foreign Affairs.

Mustafa, 41, who lives in Istanbul, has written a whole chapter in his book to explain the rationale behind the punishment for apostasy by first showing that there is nothing, no verse in the Quran which bars the act of leaving the religion.

“There are instead verses which vindicate individual freedom, besides let there be no compulsion in religion,” Mustafa said in his two-hour talk, also attended by Penang exco on Islamic affairs Abdul Malik Kassim.

He cited verses in the Quran that say “The truth is from your Lord. Let anyone who believes it, believe it. If anyone wants to disbelieve it, disbelieve it.

“To the Prophet, the Lord says you are not a guardian of the people but your only mission is to proclaim the truth.”

Mustafa explained that what the Quran does say is that apostates will be punished in their afterlife by God.

“Why then do some people take it upon themselves to punish others for apostasy instead of leaving it to God?” he queried.

Interpreted by medieval scholars

Mustafa said some parts of the Hadith, which are attributed to the Prophet, do mention punishment for those who turn away from religion, and these were interpreted by medieval scholars.

“When you look at their writings, you see something very interesting. When they were speaking about apostasy, they were speaking of Muslim soldiers deserting the army and joining the enemy army,” Mustafa said.

“This happened during the time of medieval Islam where Muslims were attacked by non-Muslims like the pagans of Mecca and Persians, it is then considered treason to the state and the army to join the enemies,” he added.

“Hadith scholars say apostates should be punished if they were males, if they are females, it doesn’t count. This is not misogyny this time but simple recognition that women are not soldiers,” he said.

Therefore, after understanding the context and meaning of this injunction, we realise that the punishment is for treason, he said.

For example, in today’s context, if you are Iraqi soldier and you leave to join the other side, you will face series consequences as such acts are considered a crime, Mustafa clarified.

“Something that makes sense in that particular context may not make sense today, because now we live in a different world, people don’t get persecuted for having different faiths, freedom of thought or conscience,” Mustafa said.

“Not everyone becomes an army soldier. People may lose their political allegiance but that is a different matter altogether,” he added.