Why would Muslims get mad when an Islamic scholar, educated in Saudi Arabia makes the claim that apostasy does not demand death? Because he is going against 1400 years of Islamic theology and the word of Muhammad, that's why.
Abdisaid Abdi Ismail gives a valiant effort, but in the end he cannot make the case because he cannot show doctrinal evidence that disputes the hadith which says in no uncertain terms "Narrated Ikrima, "Some atheists were brought to Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's messenger forbade it, saying, "Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire)." I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Messenger, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him." Bukhari, volume 9, #57
Death penalty for apostasy not justifiable in Islam: Somali scholar
Abdisaid Abdi Ismail gives a valiant effort, but in the end he cannot make the case because he cannot show doctrinal evidence that disputes the hadith which says in no uncertain terms "Narrated Ikrima, "Some atheists were brought to Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's messenger forbade it, saying, "Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire)." I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Messenger, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him." Bukhari, volume 9, #57
Ismail and others like him should not be supported in their effort, if there is to be any conversation on the problems with Islam, it needs to be exposed to the light of discussion and debate in order to make the needed reforms that would turn Islam into that vaunted "Religion of Peace" so ardently claimed by Obama and other Western leaders.
From Sabahi October 27 by Bosire Boniface
Somali author Abdisaid Abdi Ismail has come under intense scrutiny after publishing a Somali language book titled "The Rule of Apostasy in Islam: Is it True?" in which he argues that there is no religious justification for killing people for apostasy.
The book sparked mixed reactions among the Somali community in Kenya and Somalia following its launch in Nairobi on September 14th.
After some clerics called for the book to be banned and burned, most Somali bookstores in Eastleigh stopped selling it, and it is now being sold "discreetly" in a few bookstores in Garissa and Nairobi as well as online, Ismail said.
Ismail, a 50-year-old Galkayo native, received a scholarship from Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he studied sharia law and advocacy, graduating in 2002 with a master's degree in Islamic economics. Since then, Ismail has written two books in Arabic, "Muslim Countries' Expanding Debt Dilemma" and "Globalisation in the Muslim World: Facts and Figures", and two other books in Somali, "How to Eradicate Poverty" and "Introduction to Islamic Economics".
Ismail, a father of three, has taught economics at East Africa University in Bosaso since 2009, but says he cannot go back to Somalia now due to death threats he has received since publishing his latest book in Nairobi.
In an exclusive interview with Sabahi, Ismail talks about why it is important to discuss the subject of apostasy in Islam, his research on the topic, and the need to promote and tolerate a healthy debate on diverse ideas among Somalis.
Sabahi: Tell us more about your book and why you wrote it.
Abdisaid Abdi Ismail: The main thesis of this book is about apostasy in Islam, but I also talked about several other issues such as state and religion, gender equality in terms of blood money, death by stoning of adulterers and adulteresses, et cetera.
I wrote this book for the Somali community to let them know some of the big issues in their religion that involve their life in this world and hereafter, which some Somali clerics continuously explain in a way that does not match the real meaning of the Islamic teachings.
I hope that the people who read this book will realise what Islam says about the issues covered by the book, but the core message is that Islam is the religion of humanity and mercy, and it values above all the life of human beings.
Sabahi: You made the issue of apostasy your main focus. Why do you think it is so relevant now and important for Somalis to understand?
Ismail: It is a very important issue in [Muslim] society today because extremist groups are using the apostasy issue as a tool to justify their heinous and brutal killing against those who oppose their erroneous interpretation of Islam or even their political agenda.
This issue is very important for the Muslim community in general, but especially for the Somali community, because their blood is being shed on a daily basis using apostasy as a tool to justify it.
I believe the topic deserves to be discussed in a broader way in the current situation of the Muslim world. I would have liked if someone else could have written about it, but unfortunately no one has written about it and that has forced me to do it now, and I chose the Somali language so as to be able to reach Somali speaking peoples in East Africa and throughout the world at large.
Sabahi: Is death an adequate punishment for apostasy and in line with Islamic teachings?
Ismail: I have been researching the issue of apostasy for a while, comparing the various perspectives and the evidences that each extremist group is using and what the Qur'an and the teachings of the prophet said about it.
What my findings led me to conclude is that the death penalty for apostasy does not have any valid argument in Islam... my view regarding apostasy is that there is no punishment for apostasy in this world.
The book sparked mixed reactions among the Somali community in Kenya and Somalia following its launch in Nairobi on September 14th.
After some clerics called for the book to be banned and burned, most Somali bookstores in Eastleigh stopped selling it, and it is now being sold "discreetly" in a few bookstores in Garissa and Nairobi as well as online, Ismail said.
Ismail, a 50-year-old Galkayo native, received a scholarship from Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he studied sharia law and advocacy, graduating in 2002 with a master's degree in Islamic economics. Since then, Ismail has written two books in Arabic, "Muslim Countries' Expanding Debt Dilemma" and "Globalisation in the Muslim World: Facts and Figures", and two other books in Somali, "How to Eradicate Poverty" and "Introduction to Islamic Economics".
Ismail, a father of three, has taught economics at East Africa University in Bosaso since 2009, but says he cannot go back to Somalia now due to death threats he has received since publishing his latest book in Nairobi.
In an exclusive interview with Sabahi, Ismail talks about why it is important to discuss the subject of apostasy in Islam, his research on the topic, and the need to promote and tolerate a healthy debate on diverse ideas among Somalis.
Sabahi: Tell us more about your book and why you wrote it.
Abdisaid Abdi Ismail: The main thesis of this book is about apostasy in Islam, but I also talked about several other issues such as state and religion, gender equality in terms of blood money, death by stoning of adulterers and adulteresses, et cetera.
I wrote this book for the Somali community to let them know some of the big issues in their religion that involve their life in this world and hereafter, which some Somali clerics continuously explain in a way that does not match the real meaning of the Islamic teachings.
I hope that the people who read this book will realise what Islam says about the issues covered by the book, but the core message is that Islam is the religion of humanity and mercy, and it values above all the life of human beings.
Sabahi: You made the issue of apostasy your main focus. Why do you think it is so relevant now and important for Somalis to understand?
Ismail: It is a very important issue in [Muslim] society today because extremist groups are using the apostasy issue as a tool to justify their heinous and brutal killing against those who oppose their erroneous interpretation of Islam or even their political agenda.
This issue is very important for the Muslim community in general, but especially for the Somali community, because their blood is being shed on a daily basis using apostasy as a tool to justify it.
I believe the topic deserves to be discussed in a broader way in the current situation of the Muslim world. I would have liked if someone else could have written about it, but unfortunately no one has written about it and that has forced me to do it now, and I chose the Somali language so as to be able to reach Somali speaking peoples in East Africa and throughout the world at large.
Sabahi: Is death an adequate punishment for apostasy and in line with Islamic teachings?
Ismail: I have been researching the issue of apostasy for a while, comparing the various perspectives and the evidences that each extremist group is using and what the Qur'an and the teachings of the prophet said about it.
What my findings led me to conclude is that the death penalty for apostasy does not have any valid argument in Islam... my view regarding apostasy is that there is no punishment for apostasy in this world.
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