Saira Khan has good reason to have hesitated, even in Britain. The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)
A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”
Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”
“Saira Khan no longer a practising Muslim,” The List, February 7, 2021 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Saira Khan is no longer a practising Muslim.
The 50-year-old former ‘Loose Women’ star – who is of Pakistani heritage – revealed she “pretended to be someone I’m not” to make her family happy and said she was worried about publicly renouncing Islam due to fears of death threats.
Saira wrote in her column for The Sunday Mirror: “People assume that because we have Muslim parents we are practising Muslims, that we have read the Quran, that we fast every Ramadan, that we don’t drink, that we don’t have sex before marriage.
“Saying I’m Muslim and then having a boyfriend behind closed doors, wearing clothes that go against the Muslim dress code, having a cheeky drink and living a non-Muslim life only brings guilt, self-loathing, loneliness and a feeling of being caged.”…
“I’ve not dared to share these feelings before because the very few Muslim women who have already made the admission are called sinful and some have even been targeted with death threats.
“But as a 50-year-old educated, independent woman with my own family and life experiences, I now have the courage to say that I’m not practising.”
Check Burry says
Saira, we recognise your very brave move, well done, stay safe.
Templer says
I am ax Muslim allso even in the U.K. it causes you a great deal off problems death treats etc if Islam was so true which it is not then they would leave it to god but they will not
gravenimage says
Glad you left, Templer.
faraway says
Templer, I hope you are not an ax muslim; we already have enough problems from RoPers with sharp weapons. And since when was death a treat unless it refers to the 72 virgins.
Simone says
??
Simone says
Sorry, I’m not mocking but I’m sure Templar would find the misspells funny.
faraway says
@Simone: I am hoping so too. As a french resident, I know what it’s like to struggle with a foreign language.
faraway says
By the way Simone, I’m not sure Templer would approve your new spelling LOL
gravenimage says
I believe English is not Templer’s first language.
`Michael Copeland says
It takes much courage to leave Islam. Quite apart from the death threats, a woman stands to lose all her family, that is to say, parents and siblings, who themselves will come under pressure at the mosque to “do something about it”.
Nonetheless Saira Khan is in numerous company. Some 40% of Iran have left Islam, some openly, most silently. David Wood receives many comments from muslims who have left.
https://gatesofvienna.net/2020/04/i-renounced-islam/
revereridesagain says
Denying your true convictions out of fear of what others will say always bring guilt, self-loathing and a feeling of being hemmed in. But almost exclusively among religions — I assume there are cults out there where death is prescribed for “apostasy” because I’ve seen them! — does it carry the fear of murder by those seeking to enforce its irrational ideas.
I hope this lady will be safe, and she deserves all the support and protection possible!
gravenimage says
+1
Beneath the Veil of Consciousness says
She looks so happy. Such a brave woman. Islam is no different in this regard than a biker gang, prison gang, or an organized crime mob. So much forced brainwashing and ignorance.
Eleanor says
I wish her all the best, but I do wonder at her last sentence “I now have the courage to say that I’m not practising.” Does this mean she has a foot in, and a foot out? Is she still a Muslim, albeit it, a non-practising one? Or perhaps she’s just being extra careful with her words!
Infidel says
Precisely. ‘Non practising’ just means that she’s an agnostic, not a muslimah: she is a member of the ummah, but doesn’t bother about the 5 pillars or jihad. That’s hardly much comfort.
Agnosticism is a position of unstable equilibrium. Nothing against it: a lot of people, if not most, are agnostic most of the time and religious only during the times they attend their churches/synagogues/temples/whatever. But people who’re in the ‘dunno, don’t care’ column can suddenly one day feel the need to pick something to believe in. If she hasn’t picked an alternative to islam, then chances are that it’s islam that she’ll pick. In fact, the older one gets, and as one nears death, even atheism starts to look untenable. Saira should therefore check out orther religions, be it Christianity, Sikhism or something she can culturally identify w/
IanB says
It’s her choice. It’s not up to you to demand she takes up another set of irrational, superstitious, dehumanizing beliefs.
gravenimage says
There are many Agnostics who still have strong morals–including quite a few Anti-Jihadists here.
JimJFox says
“even atheism starts to look untenable”. Nope; at 75 I’m the most convinced I’ve ever been that religion is nothing but a delusion.
JimJFox says
I know your intention here but not to contradict you, Islam is very different to any of those- they are not religions!
mortimer says
Saira Khan is very brave indeed and deserves our sincere admiration! She is one of many millions of Islam-exiters around the world … every year now … and the tempo of apostasy is increasing. Even in Soddy Barbaria, they estimate many millions are now secret apostates.
Pretty much every Muslim family in the world now has members who are openly apostates. The growth of apostasy from Islam has only just begun. I have been predicting this for many years. Wnen Muslims discover that there are 37 different Arabic Korans, they realize that the Koran cannot be divine, since Allah did NOT PERFECTLY PRESERVE it as the Koran claims. Cognitive dissonance explodes blind belief.
The coming collapse of Islam will be sudden, catastrophic and irreversible like the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
tim gallagher says
I certainly hope you are right about the large numbers of Muslims who are leaving the barbaric ideology behind, mortimer. Since you obviously know a hell of lot about islam, I’d say you are right. What a great thing it would be to see islam unravel and collapse the way the Berlin Wall did all those years ago. Islam seems so backward in so many areas of human life that I would definitely believe that many Muslims would be extremely discontented with living their lives in such a repressive and downright barbaric ideology.
Will Tyson says
She’s gorgeous too, it would have been a damn shame to have that face rapped in a hijab.
Will Tyson says
wrapped*, lol
Peter Buckley says
“But as a 50-year-old educated, independent woman with my own family and life experiences, I now have the courage to say that I’m not practising.”
Indeed. Here is an imam admitting that the muslims who are leaving are the educated ones; the muslims who are remaining are the criminals and drunks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk4d8i-yGiw
Ironically, this situation was predicted by Muhammad himself………
What wondrous times are these…..
mgoldberg says
You look at the fakestinian leaders; pediatricians, doctors at times, and others who are educated. Heck… the guy who murdered 16 at Ft Hood in the US, he was a psychiatrist. He was pushed thru even though he gave Jihadist cme lectures that should have had I’m on a 14 day psych hold, but…. political correctness that it was- they not only gave Maj Nidal Hassan a pass, they prevented any discussion of his dreadful theology. Not to be a fly in the ointment but…. we have a long long way to go. And not to be too depressing, but Biden’s cabinet appointments have hamas supporters, Iran supporters, et al, coming out the gills……
Rarely says
The 9/11 murderers were also well educated.
somehistory says
Good for her. It does take courage to do the right thing, esp when one faces death threats from one’s own family and “friends.” Even if they don’t threaten one with death, the family that believes in what the one is leaving, may cut all contact, which for someone who loves their family, is very difficult.
Michael Copeland says
She could be hunted down by someone from her own community.
https://gatesofvienna.net/2019/08/killing-someone-who-deserves-to-die/
somehistory says
A young man I met had married a Christian girl and converted. They then had to leave their home country and fled to the U.S.; but he told me that couldn’t stay in one place very long because his family members were after him to kill him. He said any moslims who found him would do the same. He sat on the floor in his empty apartment, wouldn’t answer the door and stayed down so he wouldn’t be seen through any windows.
It’s an awfully evil thing, islam, and those who worship according to it, act in evil, demonic ways.
gravenimage says
Scary stuff–but very common, Somehistory.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
I am suspicious about the quotation “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57).
https://www.quranexplorer.com/hadithebook/english/Hadith/bukhari/009.084.057.html
says something a bit different:
==QUOTE== Bukhari :: Book 9 :: Volume 84 :: Hadith 57
Narrated ‘Ikrima:
Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to ‘Ali and he [who?] burnt them [whom?]. The news of this event [what event?], reached Ibn ‘Abbas who said, “If I had been in his [whose?] place, I would not have burnt them [who are “they”?], as Allah’s Apostle forbade it, saying, ‘Do not punish anybody with Allah’s punishment (fire).’ I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah’s Apostle, ‘Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'” ==UNQUOTE==
Why is “Allah’s Apostle” not quoted directly? Has the original quotation been lost (maybe eaten by a goat)? Did Muhammad (pbuh) really say “Islamic” religion? And why is “changed” in the past tense? Does this dictum not apply to any future religion-changing? What justification did Mo give for this kill order? What if a Muslim has an imperfect understanding of Islam and decides to modify it to be in closer compliance with the Quran? Why must he be killed?
Rarely says
You’re trying to make sense out of it? Just trying to maintain control. It’s pretty simple.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Yes, Rarely, I am trying to make sense of this quote, and asked specific questions about it. If you know the answers, please reveal them.
gravenimage says
Mark, he didn’t say “Islamic relgion”, but the “Prophet” only considered Islam to religion. This is just a clarification.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Thanks, G.I., for your comments, but actually none of my specific questions have been answered. What word of Muhammad’s has been translated as “Islamic religion”? Should it have been translated as “[Islamic] religion”? In English, “change (your religion)” is ambiguous; does it mean to abandon your religion and replace it with another one, or to modify its content? And why can’t Muhammad’s original quote be found?
gravenimage says
Mark, the “Prophet” Muhammed just said “religion”–but since he only considered Islam to be religion, he was not talking about any other faith. In fact, much of Islam is set up to coerce or entice people to convert to Islam.
This is from Sunnah.com:
https://sunnah.com/search?q=religion+kill+him
You can see that this directive is not always in the past tense, nior is it specifically modified with “Islamic”.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca,NY) says
Hi G.I., Thanks for that link. We are considering the meaning of “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.” As you have explained it, what Muhammad really meant to say was “Whoever adheres to Islam and then abandons or modifies it, kill him.” Suppose I change my religion from Scientology to Presbyterianism. By a naive reading of Muhammad’s words, somebody (whom is Mo addressing?) is ordered to kill me. But if both Scientology and Presbyterianism are non-religion (because the only religion is Islam), then I need not be killed. So “Whoever changes his religion, kill him” is a mistranslation, because it does not mean what Mo meant to say.
Jayell says
‘Saira Khan has good reason to have hesitated, even in Britain. The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law’………but the death penalty hasn’t been part of British law for well over half a century, and we are in the United Kingdom, not some Mohammed hellhole! If anyone decides that it’s right to terminate a person’s life for legal reasons within the UK, it will be decided by the British people through Parliament and according to the laws passed by the British Parliament. I get the feeling here that a certain community in the UK has decided that its members have the right to conduct themselves with all decorum of a bunch of protection-racket gangsters and get away with it, as they’ve been doing for years in Rotherham, Rochdale, etc. – not a surprise since this is exactly what their ‘prophet’ taught.
The British people have had more than enough of the antics of this antediluvian, posturing lowlife. It’s well past time to sort them out.
IanB says
+1
Infidel says
She should officially declare that she’s another religion, just to stop being counted as a muslim for statistical purposes. So that groups like MCB and others can’t claim their shariah supporting populations, which they conflate w/ the number of muslims, are higher than what they actually are
I also think she’d be safer changing her identity completely, officially converting to something else, maybe non-denominational Christianity, and then moving to the Emirates, which bans muslims from several countries that UK allows, and where she’d therefore be relatively safer
gravenimage says
I don’t think she should have to declare another religion if she hasn’t converted to one. Isn’t freedom of conscience what this is all about?
And the idea that she’d be safer in Dar-al-Islam than in Britain is just bizarre.
Although there have been no recent court cases for apostasy in the Emirates, leaving Islam is still illegal there, and carries severe penalties.
Infidel says
If she leaves islam and assumes a new identity before she gets to the Emirates, she should be fine, if they have no idea who she previously was. As Hugh pointed out recently, the Emirates recently banned a lot of citizens from several muslim countries – countries that Britain has no ban on. It only seems bizarre if one thinks of the Emirates as what it was in 1999, when it was one of 3 countries to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and Britain as what it was when Enoch Powell made his speech. Both countries have changed unrecognizably since then
Yeah, freedom of conscience is good, but there is a difference b/w saying that one doesn’t practise islam, as in the 5 pillars, vs saying that one has left islam completely (like, say, an Ali Sina or a Wafa Sultan). But then again, Atheists tend to more often be Leftists than the Ayn Rand types, and those in turn tend to be heavily allied w/ the jihadists. Which is why picking another religion is important. If she doesn’t believe in a supreme being, she could pick a religion that doesn’t have one, like Buddhism or Scientology, so that she’d no longer have to pretend to be muslim
IanB says
Please explain why anyone needs a religion. I am grateful for being human and live by the Golden Rule, being law abiding, family loving, politically right leaning, doing my utmost to live a moral and ethical life. I don’t need any irrational belief system thank you.
James Lincoln says
IanB,
From a devout Christian:
I personally have have good friends who are agnostic / atheist who are wonderful people and follow the Golden Rule…
IanB says
James, thank you for your comment.
I have become unable to accept supernatural belief but I do not condemn those who do.
It’s a matter of personal choice, a basic freedom.
I have Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh friends – and humanist friends. They are all good people.
My best wishes to you.
gravenimage says
Agree, Ian and James.
gravenimage says
Infidel, thanks for your reply.
I am still at a loss as to why you are demanding that some who has left Islam go to a Muslim country. The Emirates are not as bad as some places, but non-Muslims are still discriminated against there, and she would definitely be in danger if it was found out that she is an apostate.
And while I certainly understand if she assumes a new identity for her safety, the demand that she give up her career is troubing.
The idea that the Emirates have turned into some sort of paradise of tolerance–yet one where you still have to hide your identity–over the past twenty years is just odd.
As for Atheists being clueless about Islam, one can say the same for Christians and Jews and Hindus–some are, some aren’t.
And while I am happy when ex-Muslims convert to Christianity, I don’t think that we should demand that ex-Muslims find another religion. You sneer at freedom of conscience, but this issue is a big reason that I support freedom over Islam.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an Atheist ex-Muslim–and a staunch Anti-Jihadist.
Auwal Talle Ningi says
You and those in your support are on you own. This short lived life isn’t worthy of sacrificing ownself’s eternal life for a brief one..
May you live another100 years in this filsy world, –at the end you will be rewarded according to your deed.
gravenimage says
And what deeds are those? Does this poster believe that slaughtering Infidels are “good deeds”, as all pious Muslims do?
IanB says
Keep up the wishful thinking. You will never experience the inevitable disappointment.
Rarely says
Islam is like the Mafia — you leave, you die.
somehistory says
The mafia…cosa nostra, etc., saw what moslims do and took notes.
In the U.S. prisons, the AB (Aryan Brotherhood) began in order to protect White prisoners from the other races. They eventually extended outside the prisons. Inside and out, they have the rule “blood in-blood out.” To become a member, a man must murder another. To get out, he must die.
gravenimage says
This is literally true–the Mafia developed in Sicily after the Muslim conquest there.
somehistory says
I know. And when they first came to the U.S., many in government denied that the mafia even existed. They thought it was just the way the “ethnic” group was. You know, “culture.” Just as now, many deny what islam is all about…you know, it’s “culture.”
Check Burry says
A culture, yes like the stuff in a petrie dish
Wellington says
The fact that she fears retribution in and of itself stands as an indictment of the worst religion of all time. To have in a religion’s own theological blueprint, as exampled by Sura 4:89 in the Koran and 9.84.57 in the Bukhari Hadith, the requirement of death for apostasy is itself enough for any sane and sensible person to conclude that such a religion is deeply shameful and false.
Islam is despicable. The apostasy for death requirement alone condemns Islam. And, of course, there is so much other rot as well in this wretched faith, as anyone who examines this terrible excuse for a religion will find upon learning about it with an open mind.
gravenimage says
+1
IanB says
I am in full agreement with you Wellington – as usual.
DavidR says
The spite of the “betrayed” and the permanent digitized record of that thing you did a hundred years ago will follow Saira and her loved ones forEVER. Muhammad held grudges and expected others to act on them so threatening and attacking her could be considered Shariah compliant. All it takes is a fresh faced Islamic idealist wading through old YouTube videos looking for a mission that would get Allah’s attention.
James Lincoln says
Maybe Saira Khan can talk some sense into Sinéad O’Connor…
Eleanor says
Too late. The good ship ‘Common Sense’ has already sailed from that Port.
john smith says
I doubt it James, but you never know.
Andrew Blackadder says
Its amazing that in the 21st Century this kind of situation still arises, a religion, a belief system, is a personal belief, it cannot, must not, be controlled by others, but to kill somebody because they dont believe in your notion of a God above, or below, merely shows they have no deep sense of their own belief system.
islam truly is a Fascist Religious CULT, if it was not the case of death for leaving this Cult then islam would be finished.
In Malaysia they do not kill the person, they put them in Prison for two years and everybody in that Prison will know why he is in there and that two years may be something like Hell, IF they survive it.
And people call Malaysia a MODERATE islamic Nation…
gravenimage says
UK actress reveals she has left Islam, ‘was worried about publicly renouncing Islam due to fears of death threats’
…………………….
Kudos to Saira Khan for being principled enough to leave Islam–and for being brave enough to say it pubically. Yes–even in the West, she is in danger from her murderous former coreligionists.
Check Burry says
Mum & pappa too. What sad folk they are.
gravenimage says
All too common, Check.
Uma says
Hats off to you my child. Stay safe and please take care.
john smith says
My estimation of this lady has gone through the roof. I wish Saira Khan all the very best and many are going to follow in her footsteps.
OLD GUY says
Brave lady hope her well.
tgusa says
She should be informed that I support the death penalty for those who support the death penalty for apostasy. Yes they have forced my hand on that. I’m a two way street kinda guy.
pedantic says
Is the term non-practising Muslim the same as ex-Muslim?
gravenimage says
Hard to tell…
Sounds like “ex-Muslim” without the commitment…