National Geographic: Religion of Tolerance
Charles Johnson
Tue Apr 4, 2006 at 9:35 am PDT • Views: 200
National Geographic looks at the Abdul Rahman case, and lays down a nice coat of whitewash on the subject of Islamic apostasy laws, asking the question: Does Islam Allow for Death Penalty for Converts? (Hat tip: Doss.)
Of course it does, in nearly every Muslim nation. But don’t let that fool you!
Many Islamic scholars, however, stress that the Koran itself advocates freedom of religion.
“Faith in the Koran is a matter of private witness,” said Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of Islamic studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “As such, it cannot be compelled by any outside force, including an Islamic government.”
Scholar Ali Asani, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, agrees. “The Koran has a pluralist ethos that recognizes there are differences in society based on a variety of things, including race and religion. It calls for tolerating, even respecting, such differences,” said Asani, a professor of Indo-Muslim languages and cultures.
Imam Mohamed Magid, of Virginia’s All Dulles Area Muslim Society, also cited the Koran, specifically verse II:256. “The verse reads, Let there be no compulsion in religion. That also applies that no one should be compelled to stay in a religion,” he said.
“From the Islamic perspective belief is something that God will accept only when a person is sincere about it—you cannot force someone to believe,” Asani said.
You’ve got to flip to the second page before you discover that the world these Islamic scholars are talking about simply doesn’t exist.
Frank says: