Islam was a small cult back around the year 1000 AD. Charlemagne helped spread it among his empire. At the time, it consisted of the belief that followers would spend every waking moment making themselves perfect in the eyes of God, which meant unwavering adherence to the ten commandments, including THOU SHALT NOT KILL. The rulers of the kingdoms in the empire said “we can’t adopt this religion, our people won’t fight our battles or guard our borders”. So, they had their wise men alter the meaning of some of the words, making the battle of good versus evil that everyone fights inside themselves an external battle of believer versus non-believer.
Thanks. Has it always been involuntary, ie death penalty for apostasy?