Harvard Muslim chaplain sees “great wisdom” in killing apostates

An Islamic chaplain at Harvard, Taha Abdul-Basser (born and raised in New York City), has expressed his support for the execution of apostates (those who abandon Islam). The Harvard Crimson originally published the article on April 4.

“I believe he doesn’t belong as the official chaplain,  an Islamic student who asked to remain anonymous to avoid co, who asked that he not be named in order to avoid conflicts with Muslim religious authorities. (Surely he can’t mean the ‘religion of peace’) “If the Christian ministers said that people who converted from Christianity should be killed, don’t you think the University should do something?”

Exactly. It would be ten minutes – not ten days and counting – before this guy was out of Harvard and all over the news. There would be plenty of condemnation from the Christian church. But apart from a few brave Harvard and M.I.T. students (including another student who requested that he not be named for fear of harming his relationship with the Islamic community), there is no condemnation from the “moderate Muslim majority. In fact, there is plenty of support for the chaplain found in the article and comments.

Here is the email the chaplain sent to a student which eventually made its way around the blogosphere (emphasis mine):

Debating about religious matter is impermissible [ … ]

Not a good start. Why is religious matter not a matter for debate to this Islamic chaplain?

[ … ] I would finally note that there is great wisdom (hikma) associated with the established and preserved position (capital punishment) and so, even if it makes some uncomfortable in the face of the hegemonic modern human rights discourse, one should not dismiss it out of hand. The formal consideration of excuses for the accused and the absence of Muslim governmental authority in our case here in the North/West is for dealing with the issue practically.

This should really come as no surprise as apostasy is forbidden by Islamic Sharia law. Here’s just two hadith verses (H/T Ali):

“The blood of a Muslim … cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims.” (Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 83, Number 17)

“Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.” (Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57)

There are many additional Qur’an verses and ahadith referenced at Faith Freedom International detailing Islam’s plans for apostates.

While choosing one’s own religion is recognized by the United Nations as a fundamental human right, it is not recognized by Islam (read Jeffrey Imm’s work). Following publication, The Crimson granted the Harvard student quoted in the article anonymity when “he revealed that his words could bring him into serious conflict with Muslim religious authorities.”

Diana West made this comment regarding the student’s anonymity request at her blog: “This isn’t the Swat Valley. This isn’t Taliban-controlled Afghanistan–or, for that matter, Karzai-controlled Afghanistan. This isn’t Iran. This isnt Iraq. This is what sharia creep looks like in America…in Harvard Yard.