Does Islam have Human Rights

As such, this paper looks into investigating what apostasy really is and what its implications are not only in the Islamic world but in other religions as well. The paper will equally shed light on the role human rights and government authorities in shaping the whole issue of apostasy. Introduction Islam is one of the most controversial religions in the world today given to its association to violence and terror activities. This is especially on the ground of their common beliefs more so on the issue of apostasy. From an Islamic point of view, apostasy is described as the conscious desertion of Islam religion by a Muslim either through did, in word, or both. Although there are varied interpretations of the intended meaning of the words, there are those that take those statements as they are illustrated to declare death to those that do not believe in Islam.

It is important noting that abandoning Islam as one’s religion after its acceptance depicts extensive spiteful propaganda against the religion as well as a disgrace to the immediate Muslim community where he/she lives. In other words, such rejection does not only show a negative image about Muslims but it equally discourages many people from accepting Islam as their religion of choice and fosters the encouragement of all types of blasphemy and criminality. The cases of Islam rejection show that the individual who accepted it was just testing it and had not invested any commitment to the religion. As a result, the rejection is deemed to be attacking Islam and attempting to dissident from within. This treason is liable to precipitation of debut of internal rebellion and risky rebellion among Muslims.

Such a crime is the most serious in all societies, hence, it is commonly termed as ‘High Treason’2. However, a convicted defaulter is always given a grace period of three consecutive days within which he/she should return to the Islamic fold. Within this period, the person sits with competent Islamic scholars who teach him the primary sin he/she is indulging in, against their own family, soul, community, and alienate whatever misconceptions he/she had been subjected to before through any source. In the event that the individual gets back to the Islam fold, they are not punished. As such, apostasy should not be associated with defiance from human rights since Islam does not condone any deed that leads to misunderstanding and disruption in the society.

To some extent, it can be argued that the apostasy law in Islam is somehow alike and more considerate as opposed a range of modern political systems which treat a range of activities to takeover an existing government or administration as illegal and eventual treason, punishable strictly by exile, confiscation of individual wealth of such people, imprisonment, and execution. Further, even the relatives of such individuals are extensively harassed and punished unlike Islam which only deals with the apostate themselves with the simple and most effective deterrent. This is because they are regarded as contributors to the individual’s action and were supposed to ensure that the person remains within the religion. In other words, the harassment of the family and those close to the individual is taken to mean that the individuals around the mentioned person are also tainted and might have some doubt about the religion.