Editing Freedom of religion (section)

====Apostasy in Islam====
{{Main|Apostasy in Islam|Takfir|Mutaween}}
[[File:Rechtsgutachten betr Apostasie im Islam.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Legal opinion on apostasy by the [[Fatwa]] committee at [[Al-Azhar University]] in [[Cairo]], the highest Islamic institution in the world, concerning the case of a man who converted to Christianity: "Since he left Islam, he will be invited to express his regret. If he does not regret, he will be killed pertaining to rights and obligations of the Islamic law."]]
In Islam, apostasy is called "''ridda''" ("turning back") and is considered to be a profound insult to God. A person born of Muslim parents that rejects Islam is called a "''murtadd fitri''" (natural apostate), and a person that converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "''murtadd milli''" (apostate from the community).<ref>{{cite book | last=Warraq | first=I. | title=Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out | publisher=Prometheus | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-61592-160-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9q0y21B9BoUC | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9q0y21B9BoUC&pg=PA16 16]}}</ref>

A female apostate must be either executed, according to [[Shafi'i]], [[Maliki]], and [[Hanbali]] schools of [[Sunni Islam]]ic jurisprudence ([[fiqh]]), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni [[Hanafi]] school and by [[Shi'a]] scholars.<ref name="EI Murtadd">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Heffening, W.|article=Murtadd| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] Online Edition|editor1=P.J. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|issn=1573-3912}}</ref>

Ideally, the one performing the execution of an apostate must be an [[imam]].<ref name="EI Murtadd" /> At the same time, all schools of [[Islamic jurisprudence]] agree that any Muslim can kill an apostate without punishment.<ref>{{cite book |author=Abdul Qadir Oudah|title=Kitab Bhavan|year=1999|isbn=8171512739|publisher=Kitab Bhavan|location=New Delhi}}, Volume II. pp. 258–262; Volume IV. pp. 19–21</ref>

However, while almost all scholars agree about the punishment, many disagree on the allowable time to retract the apostasy.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sadakat Kadri|title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia|year=2012|isbn=978-0099523277|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York}}</ref> [[S. A. Rahman]], a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, argues that there is no indication of the death penalty for apostasy in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{cite book |author=S. A. Rahman|author-link=S. A. Rahman|title=Punishment of Apostasy in Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC|year=2007|publisher=The Other Press|isbn=978-9839541496|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC&pg=PA132 132–142]|chapter=Summary and Conclusions|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC&pg=PA132}}</ref>

[[Javed Ahmad Ghamidi]] a prominent Islamic scholar who studied under Syed Abul Ala Maududi & Amin Ahsan Islahi, says killing of apostates was only for a special period after the [[Itmam e Hujjat]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}