Human Fraternity Imam: Apostates Should Be Killed

Vatican's New Document on "Human Fraternity" Co-signed by Imam Who Believes in Death For Christian Converts

"...A few months before meeting the Pope he declared in front of the German Parliament that the Koran guaranteed religious freedom.

However, as the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies recently pointed out (as highlighted by Raymond Ibrahim in a recent essay), el-Tayeb has a history of saying one thing to Western audiences and another to Arabic or Muslim ones.

For example, during this past Ramadan, el-Tayeb reaffirmed on his television show that Islam mandates death for apostates:

Contemporary apostasy presents itself in the guise of crimes, assaults, and grand treason, so we deal with it now as a crime that must be opposed and punished…. Those learned in Islam [al-fuqaha] and the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence consider apostasy a crime and agree that the apostate must either renounce his apostasy or else be killed.

The plucky Institute made a public statement calling on him to renounce this position, also making the general observation that Al Azhar adopts two contradictory speeches: one is open and directed externally, while the other supports violent extremism, and is directed internally.
Interestingly, it appears that the statement was not released in English or referenced on the English version of the site.

What are we to make of this?

Please visit What Every Catholic Should Know.


Is Pope Francis aware that his new Muslim friend appears to believe that apostates from Islam should be killed? How does this comport with the "protection" of Christians in the region? Or perhaps the Pope, in his rejection of "proselytism," does not believe that Christian converts are worthy of protection, or should not be placed in the category of "Christians." Maybe it's more of an ethnic category.

Also, converts do tend to be a bit conservative, after all.

Actually, I suspect the Pope has no idea what el-Tayeb really believes or more to the point, doesn't really care. But he does seem to care very much about publicizing how dialogue with his quasi-peer distinguishes him from his predecessor.

Ahmad Al Tayyeb supports death for leaving Islam

Revelation 13

11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 

12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 

13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 

14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 

16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 

17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 

18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.