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Apostasy is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who undertakes apostasy is known as an apostate. Undertaking apostasy is called apostatizing. The term apostasy is used by sociologists to mean the renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense, with no pejorative connotation.
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Takfir or takfīr is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ḥadīth literature; instead, kufr ("unbelief") and kāfir ("unbeliever") and other terms employing the same triliteral root k-f-r appear. "The word takfīr was introduced in the post-Quranic period and was first done by the Khawarij," according to J. E. Campo. The act which precipitates takfīr is termed mukaffir. A Muslim who declares another Muslim to be an unbeliever or apostate is a takfīri ("excommunicational").
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The situation for apostates from Islam varies markedly between Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority regions. In Muslim-minority countries, "any violence against those who abandon Islam is already illegal". But in some Muslim-majority countries, religious violence is "institutionalised", and "hundreds and thousands of closet apostates" live in fear of violence and are compelled to live lives of "extreme duplicity and mental stress."
References
- ↑ "Simon Cottee". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "Dr Simon Cottee". University of Kent. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Anthony, Andrew (17 May 2015). "Losing their religion: the hidden crisis of faith among Britain's young Muslims". The Observer. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Sherkat, Darren E. (22 June 2015). "Losing Their Religion: When Muslim Immigrants Leave Islam". Foreign Affairs.
- ↑ Shaha, Alom (19 May 2015). "What happens when Muslims leave Islam?". New Humanist. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Cohen, Nick (28 February 2015). "How liberal Britain is betraying ex-Muslims". The Spectator. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Freedland, Jonathan (17 July 2008). "Falling Hawks". New York Review of Books. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "Academic papers". Simon Cottee. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Ahmed, Abdul-Azim (20 February 2015). "Faithwashing ISIS". On Religion. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Cottee, Simon (12 September 2014). "The Pornography of Jihadism". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
