Question: "Does an apostate of Islam has to be executed? If not, why is it said that the image of Islam is being depraised by such?"

Answer: "Without doubt it is so, that the Prophet of Islam said: 'A Muslim may be executed only in three cases: 1. If a married woman commits adultery or 2. if the person is a manslayer or 3. if it is an apostate of (Islamic) religion or a person leaving a (muslim) group."

"By means of these and other evidence, Muslim scholars have always agreed and still agree upon capital punishment being the adequate penalty for apostasy (of Islam). All four Schools of (Islamic) Law accede to this fact. This (rule) is being clearly expressed in the tradition (by Mohammad, meaning the Hadith)."

"Whoever falls away from Islam, develops himself to a corrupt member of society. He has to be removed from this (society), so that his mischief cannot spread within society."

"Apostasy of Islam is no mere spiritual attitude. It rather is a change of loyalty, identity and social affiliation. The apostate dedicates his loyalty and affiliation toward another nation and a new spiritual home."

Please also refer to http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/ilaw/. Following is an excerpt of what Apostasy really means for Muslims:

Whoever falls away from faith in Islam commits -- from an Islamic perspective -- an unforgivable sin. He takes himself away from Allah, his owner -- which is theft -- and weakens the Islamic state, an action branded as revolt or insurrection. He who falls away from Islam must, according to the Sharia, be prosecuted, taken into custody by force, and called on to repent. If necessary, his return is to be "helped" along with torture. He who does not embrace Islam again has, according to the Sharia, forfeited his life and is to be put to death by the state. According to the daily paper, Al Alam, King Hassan II of Morocco, who is also the imam of his country, presented the following state of affairs before a human rights commission on May 15, 1990:

"If a Muslim says, 'I have embraced another religion instead of Islam,' he -- before he is called to repentance -- will be brought before a group of medical specialists, so that they can examine him to see if he is still in his right mind.

"After he has then been called to repentance, but decides to hold fast to the testimony of another religion not coming from Allah -- that is, not Islam -- he will be judged."

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