"Apostasy" technically means leaving any religion for another religion or set of beliefs and is derived from a Greek word originally referring to Christians leaving the church. However, in many Muslim-majority countries, leaving Islam for an alternative religion or belief, including atheism, is widely understood to be a grave sin and a betrayal of the Umma- the universal Islamic community. In some countries apostasy is interpreted as a threat to the political stability of the nation. Punishments for apostasy range from the death sentence to no punishment at all, as long as apostates do not rebel against the Islamic system. In cases where a person has been convicted of apostasy, the accused is often given the chance to recant their faith.

International law

Converts from Islam continue to be convicted of apostasy in some Muslim-majority countries, despite many of these countries being signatories to various international covenants. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) stipulates that:

‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.’

Part two of Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) further protects converts by stating that ‘no one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice.’

The death penalty: Iran

On October 2011 the international community was reminded of the situation faced by some religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries when a Christian pastor was sentenced to death for apostasy in Iran.  Despite apostasy being undefined in Iranian law, with no specific punishment stipulated for those convicted, the death penalty can be given based on an open-ended article of the Iranian constitution. This effectively allows judges to deliver verdicts underpinned by the ‘authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwas’ .

However, Pastor Nadarkhani was not the first Iranian Christian to be charged as an apostate or the first to be sentenced to death. In 1990, Reverend Hossein Soodmand was executed for apostasy. In 1993, Pastor Mehdi Dibaj was also sentenced to death for apostasy.  He was released following an international outcry, but was subsequently kidnapped and his dead body was found six months later. The initiator of the international outcry for Pastor Dibaj’s freedom, Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr, was also abducted and murdered. 

Societal pressure

Apostates do not only face pressure from the state, social pressure and rejection by their families and communities; they also live in a climate of fear. Pressures can include the annulment of marriages, denial of permission to travel, termination of citizenship, confiscation of identity papers, the consequent loss of social and economic rights, house searches, and cycles of interrogation, arbitrary detention, sustained torture and court action for various supposed crimes. In 2007, three Christian missionaries – two of them converts from Islam – were tortured and executed in Malatya, Turkey.  

Life can become extremely difficult in many Muslim-majority countries for those wanting to change their religion, with various laws designed to discourage conversion away from Islam. In countries like Egypt it is impossible to change one’s official religion from Islam on identity cards, which are needed in everyday life.  However, those wanting to convert to Islam can easily do so. Pressure from the state and from society makes the life of an apostate very difficult, with many being forced to leave their country of birth.