What is Apostasy? Why Important?

What is apostasy and where is it practiced? According to this excellent article in the online news organization, The Daily Mirror, “apostasy is the legal name for religious conversion or a complete desertion of an individual’s religion, principles, political party of cause. The name derives from the latin apostasia which means ‘to revolt’.”

Who punishes it?  According to the  Pew Research Center, the countries above all have apostasy laws.  Many countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Nigeria, all impose the death penalty.

Why is apostasy in news?  It’s in the news because a Sudanese court recently sentenced a 27 year old woman to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith.  The young woman, Meriam Ibrahim, is the daughter of a Muslim father and a Christian mother. She married a Christian man and says that she was raised as a Christian.   The Guardian reports that “Ibrahim’s marriage to a Christian man was invalid and that she was guilty of apostasy and adultery. Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to be hanged for apostasy.”

What happened?  Meriam went to prison and recently gave birth. The international community has spoken out against the death sentence. England called  the convictions and sentences ” barbaric.” And Amnesty International is trying to get the Sudanese government to free the young woman. Hillary Clinton even tweeted her opposition.

Here’s a  short  review of the accusations from CNN.