Apostasy in Islam

Apostasy in Islam (Arabic: ردة, riddah or ارتداد, irtidād) is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. It includes not only explicit renunciations of the Islamic faith by converting to another religion or abandoning religion, but also blasphemy or heresy by those who consider themselves Muslims, through any action or utterance which implies unbelief, including those who deny a "fundamental tenet or creed" of Islam, (such as suggesting jinn are not real). An apostate from Islam is known as a murtadd (مرتدّ).

While classical Islamic jurisprudence calls for the death penalty of those who refuse to repent of apostasy from Islam, what statements or acts qualify as apostasy and whether and how they should be punished, are disputed among Islamic scholars. The penalty of killing of apostates is in conflict with international human rights norms which provide for the freedom of religions, as demonstrated in such human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide for the freedom of religion.

Until the late 19th century, the majority of Sunni and Shia jurists held the view that for adult men, apostasy from Islam was a crime as well as a sin, punishable by the death penalty, but with a number of options for leniency (such as a waiting period to allow time for repentance; enforcement only in cases involving politics), depending on the era, the legal standards and the school of law. In the late 19th century, the use of legal criminal penalties for apostasy fell into disuse, although civil penalties were still applied.

As of 2021, there were ten Muslim-majority countries where apostasy from Islam was punishable by death, but legal executions are rare. Most punishment is extra-judicial/vigilante, and most executions are perpetrated by jihadist and "takfiri" insurgents (al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, the GIA, and the Taliban). Another thirteen countries have penal or civil penalties for apostates  – such as imprisonment, the annulment of their marriages, the loss of their rights of inheritance and the loss of custody of their children.

In the contemporary Muslim world, public support for capital punishment varies from 78% in Afghanistan to less than 1% in Kazakhstan; among Islamic jurists, the majority of them continue to regard apostasy as a crime which should be punishable by death. Those who disagree argue that its punishment should be less than death, should occur in the afterlife, (human punishment being inconsistent with Quranic injunctions against compulsion in belief), or should apply only in cases of public disobedience and disorder (fitna).