A Muslim Comment on the Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag Case
From time to time I hear the question regarding some act of terrorism, or by some act of a Muslim government: Where is the Muslim outrage?
I first want to note that I find measuring online outrage to be a somewhat hopeless task. I am outraged at many things that I never manage to mention on my blog. My blogging has a great deal more to do with my current schedule than with my state of outrage.
But I do want to call an article, Sudan Government Tells Young Christian Woman to Recant or Die, written by Harris Zafar. To quote, regarding her sentence:
As a human of conscience, I see this as a clear violation of fundamental human rights. Moreover, as an Ahmadi Muslim, I find the actions of Sudan’s government incredibly disturbing. They claim not only to be administering Shariah Law that is allegedly a 100% Islamic constitution, but also that “it is not allowed at all for a Muslim to change his religion.”
I found the entire article extremely interesting.
The article is interesting, it it tells another thing than suggested by you:
1. The author is a Ahmadiyyah Muslims. The Ahmadiyya sect (the source of the “Jesus lived in India”-propaganda you may have encountered or not) is considered by other Muslims as a heresy, the followers of this teaching are accused of apostasy from Islam (as a consequence, the world headquarter of this group is in London, any Islamic country would be unsafe).
2. Exegesis of Qor’an and Sunnah is a difficult task, and the outcome depends on so many factors that are rather subjective, that any claim “The Islam teaches” really means “my version of Islam teaches”. A different (and more detailed) judgment (from a former Muslim?) can e.g. be found on http://www.answering-islam.org/Index/A/apostasy.html
The Ahmadiyyas have the right to consider themselves as Muslims, but they are shun from mainstream Islam and persecuted as non-Muslims all over the Islamic world. I am glad tom see another proof that they are peaceful and tolerant people, but they are a minority at the fringe of Islam, outside the Islamic “umma”.
The (Muslim) lawyer of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag is a better example of Muslims that do not accept the injustice done to her. And a courageous one – he has been harassed and threatened because of his engagement for his client.
Thanks for your note. I think that as a Christian, considering how divided my faith is, I will refrain from deciding who is a good Muslim. I am pleased to hear about both this writer and the lawyer. As for interoretation, I live with the variety of messages gotten from the Bible, so as a person in a glass house, I won’t throw stones!