Usmani defends death penalty for apostasy

Pakistani religious leader Muhammad Taqi Usmani, who has defended the death penalty for leaving Islam as well as amputations and stoning under Islamic law, delivered a religious lecture at a gathering at the Grand Mosque on Bústaðavegur in Reykjavík last Wednesday, mbl.is reports.

Usmani, 83, is a former judge on the Sharia Appellate Bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court and an influential figure in the Deobandi movement of Sunni Muslims. He has also held advisory and supervisory roles for banks and helped shape international standards for Islamic finance.

In his writings, Usmani rejects the view that apostasy is punishable by death only when it involves rebellion or terrorism. He argues that apostasy itself is grounds for the punishment in an Islamic state. He also says rulers, judges and legislatures cannot change fixed religious penalties, while stressing that evidentiary requirements apply and that doubt can prevent their enforcement.

Usmani welcomed the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, comparing their entry into Kabul with the Prophet Muhammad’s victory in Mecca. Under Taliban rule, women and girls have since been deprived of basic rights, including education, while public floggings and executions have been introduced. Usmani later urged the Taliban to reopen girls’ schools, with separate education for girls and boys under Sharia.

At a conference in April last year, Usmani described armed action against Israel as a religious duty for Muslim governments because of the war in Gaza. He asked what purpose their armies served if they were not used to defend Palestinians, while also calling for peaceful protests. Usmani has also criticised the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex relations.

The Muslim Institute in Iceland runs the Grand Mosque. It is the country’s largest Muslim religious association, with 1,007 registered members at the start of this month, according to Statistics Iceland’s National Registry. Membership had increased by 119 since 1 December last year.