Egyptian Mufti Denies Saying Apostasy Should Not Be Punished By Death

Oops.

Yesterday, I was happy to report that the Egyptian Grand Mufti had declared that apostasy ought no longer be punished with the death penalty.

But, today, I find he denies ever saying any such thing. Oh well, back to the 7th century we go.

Thanks to Anonymous for sending this in:


Egypt’s official religious advisor has ruled that Muslims are free to change their faith as it is a matter between an individual and God, in a move which could have far-reaching implications for the country’s Christians.

“The essential question before us is can a person who is Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can,” Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum picked up by the Egyptian press on Tuesday.

“The act of abandoning one’s religion is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgement. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment,” he wrote.
Just one little problem.

That may be what the infidels want to hear, but it’s not what he really believes.

Cairo: Egypt’s top cleric yesterday denied in a statement that he had said a Muslim can give up his faith without punishment.

Ali Goma’a, the mufti of Egypt, was quoted as saying in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum that Muslims are free to change their faith and this is a matter between an individual and God.

“What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished,” Goma’a said.