Coercion and conscience: Why apostasy laws, like all religious privileges, are a Bad Thing

Last updated on: June 28, 2014 at 4:41 pm by Fred Clark

Coercion and conscience: Why apostasy laws, like all religious privileges, are a Bad Thing 2014-06-28T16:41:49-04:00 Fred Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is good news: “Sudanese woman Meriam Ibrahim ‘safe and well’ in US embassy.” The Guardian reports:

The husband of a Sudanese Christian woman facing threats after her apostasy death sentence was overturned has expressed relief that the family has been given refuge at the US embassy in Khartoum.

“Really, it’s good,” Daniel Wani, the American husband of Meriam Ibrahim, told Agence France-Presse by telephone on Friday, adding that embassy staff had been “very helpful and very nice”.

He said his wife and two children, who could be heard in the background, were doing well at the heavily guarded facility.

Ibrahim, 27, went to the US embassy on Thursday after being detained at Khartoum airport as she tried to leave Sudan. Her arrest came days after her release from death row.

Wani confirmed they had sought the embassy’s protection because of death threats against his wife.

A US State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said the family were in a safe location. …

Meriam Ibrahim with her son, husband Daniel Wani (right), and one of her lawyers, Mohanad Mustafa (left). Getty Images photo via The Guardian article at link.

International pressure and public outcry enabled the State Department to do its job, granting refuge to Ibrahim and her family.

Here’s hoping that public outcry doesn’t take a nasty partisan turn after the fact the way the rescue of American POW Bowe Bergdahl did. Ibrahim, like Bergdahl, has suffered too much already and doesn’t need to be subjected to the vile attacks the American right wing directs at anyone who has been helped by the Obama administration.

Sudan’s “apostasy” laws are an extreme example of the problems created by any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” As America’s First Amendment argues, and as Ibrahim’s case illustrates, the establishment of religion in any form makes the free exercise of religion in any form impossible. This is true not just for “apostates” — religious minorities and dissenters from the privileged official religion — but for adherents of the official religion itself.

Sudan’s apostasy law makes it illegal for any Sudanese citizen to convert to any other religion other than the form of Islam mandated by the Sudanese government. That law means that no one can become a Christian, or an atheist, or a Hindu, in Sudan. But that law also means that no one can be a faithful Muslim in Sudan. It makes coercion — the threat of arrest and execution — a part of every Sudanese citizens’ faith, and that casts doubt on every Sudanese citizens’ faith. No one’s religious devotion can be wholly sincere when it is maintained, in part, because there’s a gun to their head threatening to kill them if they think, believe or choose otherwise.

American Christians spoke out on behalf of Meriam Ibrahim. That’s good. American Christians should be speaking out on behalf of prisoners of conscience — but not only on behalf of their fellow Christians. We should also be defending the religious liberty of people like Asif Mohiuddin — one of four atheist bloggers jailed in Bangladesh. And we should be defending the freedom of conscience of people like Ossama Mohamed Bahloul, whose Islamic congregation has faced legal harassment and threats of arson and violence in the far-off land of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Jesus’ followers should remember what Jesus commanded them: If you defend only those of your own religious tribe, what credit is that to you? Every other tribe defends its own, for even sinners love those who love them.

class warfare

church & state

Previous Post

June 27, 2014

I try to describe it, can never succeed

Next Post

June 29, 2014 Sunday favorites

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category class warfare evangelicals Iraq Left Behind Mammon music Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the Christian view of "servant leadership"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Servants never lead Only the boss leads Greatest serves others Leaders demand first