Death penalty sought as Muslims convert to Christianity

Ananova ^ | April 24, 2002 | Ananova

[grimalkin]

Nigerian Muslim prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for two men accused of converting from Islam to Christianity.

Lawali Yakubu and Ali Jafaru have been given three days to re-convert by an Islamic court judge in Mada.

They are accused of joining the Great Commission Movement, an international evangelical church with a strong following in Nigeria.

Sharia court judge Auwal Jabaka said the Koran calls for the execution of Muslims who accept another religion.

But he said it is unclear whether the state's two-year-old Shariah penal code also permits such a punishment.

Jabaka adjourned the court for three days to allow the accused to "change their minds" and convert back to Islam.

In the meantime, he called on the Zamfara government to clarify its position on the matter.

"If the law empowers me to (execute the two for converting from Islam to Christianity), I will have no hesitation in doing that," the judge said.

Yakubu and Jafaru were not represented by lawyers but were instead accompanied by fellow church members.

The two argued they had never been Muslims, but were instead members of the Magazawa, a Hausa subgroup that has long practised Christianity. The overwhelming majority of Hausas - one of Nigeria's largest tribes - are Muslim.

[FR_addict]

Muslims in America are not free to leave.

The case I heard about is a young man who converted to Chrisitanity and his mother told him it would have been better if she had killed him in the womb. His former friends said he must leave or they would be forced to kill him. He is in hiding now in another city.

[JeepInMazar]

Thanks for sharing the story. There are former Muslims all over the place in hiding here in the United States. The Muslim leaders in the U.S. simply don't care or actually support the threat of death against former Muslims as standard operating proceedure.