Thursday, April 16, 2009
A controversy has errupted: Chaplain's E-mail Sparks Controversy
Harvard Islamic chaplain Taha Abdul-Basser '96 has recently come under fire for controversial statements in which he allegedly endorsed death as a punishment for Islamic apostates.
In a private e-mail to a student last week, Abdul-Basser wrote that there was "great wisdom (hikma) associated with the established and preserved position (capital punishment [for apostates]) 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 e-mail was forwarded over Muslim student e-mail lists and later picked up by the blogosphere, sparking debate and, in many cases, criticism of Abdul-Basser from those who have interpreted his statement as supporting the execution of those who leave the Islamic religion.
"I believe he doesn't belong as the official chaplain," said one Islamic student, who asked that he not be named to avoid conflicts with Muslim religious authorities. "If the Christian ministers said that people who converted from Christianity should be killed, don't you think the University should do something?"...
Whatever the Chaplain meant to say, the fact is he can't simply write off the principle. Death for apostasy is a mainstream matter. Note that the student quoted can't even have his name used for fear of repercussions within his religion. Frightening reality. How do you have freedom, if you can't have the most basic freedoms of conscience.
More comment at Jihad Watch.
Update: Richard Landes has an in-depth look at the article and the original, controversial, in two posts: Harvard's Muslim Chaplain Notes the Wisdom of Killing Apostates and The Email of Taha Abdul-Basser, Harvard's Muslim Chaplain, on the question of death for Apostasy in Islam. Well worth checking out!
How is this not incitement to murder?