Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Jane S. Gerber, “Anti-Semitism and the 

Muslim World.” In History and Hate: The Dimensions of 

Anti-Semitism, edited by David Berger, 73–94 (Philadel-

phia: Jewish Publication Society, 1986); Bernard Lewis, 

The Jews of Islam (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 

1984); Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clare, eds., 

The Politics of Anti-Semitism (Oakland, Calif.: AK Press, 

2003).

anti-Semitism

  

47  J

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apostasy

Apostasy, which comes from the Greek word for 

“defection” or “revolt,” is the partial or complete 

abandonment or rejection of the beliefs and prac-

tices of a religion by a person who is a follower 

of that religion. The charge of apostasy is often 

used by religious authorities to condemn and 

punish skeptics, dissidents, and minorities in 

their communities. This is especially so in reli-

gions such as Judaism, Christianity, and i

slam

,

where membership in the religious community 

involves publicly making or consenting to formal 

statements of belief. Failure to do so may provide 

grounds for accusations of apostasy and result in 

severe penalties.

In Islam, apostasy is thought of in two ways: 

abandoning Islam (irtidad) and deviation in reli-

gious belief (ilhad). In either case, apostasy is 

regarded as a kind of disbelief, together with 

her

-

esy

 and 

blasphemy

 (verbally insulting a religion). 

The  q

Uran

 declares that apostasy will result in 

punishment in the 

aFterliFe

 but takes a relatively 

lenient view toward apostasy in this life (Q 9:74; 

2:109). This picture changed significantly during 

the  U

mayyad

 and a

bbasid

  c

aliphates

 (seventh 

century to ninth century), when Muslim jurists 

invoked 

hadith

 that supported the imposition 

of the death penalty for apostasy, except in cases 

of coercion. These hadith may well have been 

a product of the so-called wars of apostasy (the 

Ridda Wars) that shook the early Muslim commu-

nity after the death of m

Uhammad

 in 632. Accord-

ing to the 

sharia

, apostasy is identified with a long 

list of actions such as conversion to another reli-

gion, denying the existence of God, rejecting the 

prophets, mocking God or the prophets, idol wor-

ship, rejecting the sharia, or permitting behavior 

that is forbidden by the sharia, such as adultery. 

Muslims disagree over when such actions should 

be punished, but in the history of Islam, a variety 

of individuals and groups have been accused of 

apostasy—atheists, materialists, Sufis, and mem-

bers of Shii sects. The Sufi mystics m

ansUr

 

al

-

h

allaJ

 (d. 922) and Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi 

(d. 1191) were among those in the Middle Ages 

accused of apostasy and executed, as well many 

followers of i

smaili

  s

hiism

. In addition to death, 

adult male apostates may also be punished by 

forced separation from their spouses and denial 

of property and inheritance rights, depending on 

the legal school. Punishment of female apostates 

involves not death, but confinement. Punishments 

may be cancelled if the accused person repents his 

or her apostasy in public.

In the modern period, conservative Muslim 

authorities and religious radicals have accused 

Muslim modernists, intellectuals, and writers 

of this “crime.” Among the most famous to be 

charged with apostasy or the related crime of 

blasphemy are the Anglo-Indian writer s

alman

r

Ushdie

 (b. 1947), the Egyptian intellectual n

asr

h

amid

  a

bU

  z

ayd

 (b. 1943), and the Bangladeshi 

writer and human rights advocate Taslima Nasrin 

(b. 1962). In some Muslim countries, apostasy 

charges have also been leveled against non-Mus-

lims, for example the Bahais in Iran and Chris-

tians in Pakistan. International 

hUman

 

rights

advocates, Muslims and non-Muslims, have con-

demned Islamic apostasy laws in the name of 

justice and “freedom of thought, conscience, and 

religion” (Article 18, Universal Declaration of 

Human Rights).

See also b

ahai

 F

aith

; c

hristianity

 

and

 i

slam

; 

J

Udaism

 

and

 i

slam

; 

heresy

; 

kafir

.