It is obvious to Muslims familiar with the Quran that the death penalty for apostasy is not rooted in the Quran. Different Prophetic sayings were interpreted by many scholars as using the Death penalty if acts of treason were associated with the conversion from Islam, rather than as a punishment for apostasy itself. I was very happy to come across this article on the BBC web site presenting this topic in a very balanced and informative manner, especially to non-Muslims.

“Last week, British teacher Daud Hassan Ali, 64, was shot dead in Somalia. His widow, Margaret Ali, said her husband was targeted by Islamists who ‘believe it is ok to kill any man who was born into Islam and left the faith’.”

Whether the ‘Islamists’ really killed him for that reason of not is open to debate, especially in such a lawless country as Somalia. But I am aware that many Muslims…

A couple of months ago I received a call from Tim Townsend asking if I would be interested in taking part in the Post Dispatch ‘blog about religion’. I did not take me long to call him back and accept the invitation. I was not naive about the task at hand. In 2 short months before that, my personal blogging experience gave me a taste of what it means to share my thoughts with the public. I have already experienced some harassment and insults by some readers, but it was, and still is, a worthwhile experience.

With the Post Dispatch Civil Religion blog, the challenge for me was a bit different. Now I have many distinguished co-bloggers who have a lot more expertise in writing and most have formal religious training. But more importantly, I am the only Muslim in the group. I may even be the only Muslim voice many of…