“Leaving Islam is considered shameful, and Christian converts face dire and violent consequences if their new faith is discovered.”

The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)

A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”

Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”

“Afghanistan replaces North Korea as hardest place to be a Christian,” Christian Institute, January 28, 2022:

Persecution of Christians has increased in Afghanistan under Taliban control, making it the most difficult place in the world to live as a Christian.

The Muslim-dominated country has moved up to number one in the Open Doors World Watch List for the first time, overtaking North Korea, which has held the top spot for the last 20 years.

The charity’s annual report says that across the 76 worst countries, almost 6,000 Christians were murdered for their faith last year, and more than 360 million Christians continue to experience ‘high’, ‘very high’ or ‘extreme’ levels of persecution for their faith – a rise of 100 million from just two years ago.

‘Dire consequences’
The report says: “Even before this year, it was impossible to live openly as a Christian in Afghanistan. Leaving Islam is considered shameful, and Christian converts face dire and violent consequences if their new faith is discovered. Either they have to flee the country or they will be killed”, possibly by their family, clan or tribe.

It continues: “If a woman converts from Islam to Christianity and her family do not, she is likely to face house arrest, sexual abuse and rape, violence, forced marriage to a Muslim or even an ‘honour’ killing.

“There is very little chance of legal justice for any woman, and women in Afghanistan have very little social or financial autonomy.”

Sharifullah
Only a small number of Christians remain in Afghanistan. Many fled the country in August last year after the withdrawal of Allied troops amid the violent Taliban takeover.

Sharifullah, a craftsman who helps a small group of believers, has attempted to share the Gospel through his work, but even this has been stopped.

“Everything beautiful is considered ‘infidel’”, he says. “The Taliban want their ideology reflected everywhere, and so all signs of colour, life and hope have been removed. They’ve been replaced with Taliban slogans, which are a far cry from hope.”

He said the Islamic terrorists are “killing our souls and our spirits”, but that he and others would not allow the Gospel’s message of hope to be silenced: “We will make sure the world hears the Gospel through every breath we take.”