Atheist deemed mentally ill

[Mom-ninja.]

 The main difference is when that happens to an atheist you're shocked, and when it happens to a gay person you don't really feel mad at all.

 

Oh, there are plenty of people who don't really feel mad or upset about bad things happening to atheists either. After all, it's just punishment from the higher being. They had/have it coming. God's wrath and all.

[maize]

I've heard it explained as sort of institutionalised proselytising, by a professor of international law. (Via my Coursera addiction.) That seems a little generous to me, but maybe that's where those laws started.

 

I read somewhere that the death penalty for apostasy originated in the early days of Islam when the followers of Mohammed were fighting for their lives against the unbelievers. Under those conditions, apostasy was basically treachery and put everyone's lives at risk. The death penalty has been commonly applied in cases of treason throughout history, so it sort of makes sense in that context--the person who apostatized was aligning themself with the enemy in a real war.

[Aura]

See, without even clicking, I guessed "Muslim country" (and I'm Muslim). 

 

Saudi Arabia just put out some stuff about atheism and terrorism (rolls eyes)….so I actually think mental illness is preferable, sadly.

 

There was an interesting article about the rise of atheism there.  http://www.salon.com/2014/06/12/atheism_explodes_in_saudi_arabia_where_just_talking_about_atheism_is_illegal_partner/

 

It amazes me as somebody who came to Islam willingly how freakin' paranoid some Muslims are about even being exposed to other faiths.  If you believe it is the truth, that it can stand up to scrutiny.  If you don't, then you're living a lie anyway.

 

Sad.

Agreed. And it's not exclusive to Muslims by any means.

[albeto.]

I read somewhere that the death penalty for apostasy originated in the early days of Islam when the followers of Mohammed were fighting for their lives against the unbelievers. Under those conditions, apostasy was basically treachery and put everyone's lives at risk. The death penalty has been commonly applied in cases of treason throughout history, so it sort of makes sense in that context--the person who apostatized was aligning themself with the enemy in a real war.

 

You might want to read up on your history some more.

 

;)

[maize]

You might want to read up on your history some more.

 

;)

 

This is interesting reading. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam

 

At least some Muslim scholars have interpreted the death penalty for apostasy as more relevant to treason. Including the interpretation that female apostates should not be executed because they are unlikely to take up arms and endanger the community.

[albeto.]

This is interesting reading. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam

 

At least some Muslim scholars have interpreted the death penalty for apostasy as more relevant to treason. Including the interpretation that female apostates should not be executed because they are unlikely to take up arms and endanger the community.

 

I don't mean to suggest Islam doesn't address apostasy with capital punishment, just that they didn't invent this. There's evidence of torture and death for apostasy (also called heresy) that predates the Muslim religion. 

[VeritasMama]

I don't mean to suggest Islam doesn't address apostasy with capital punishment, just that they didn't invent this. There's evidence of torture and death for apostasy (also called heresy) that predates the Muslim religion. 

 

This is one reason the Christians were persecuted by the Romans. One on hand it was political, their refusal to worship the emperor was seen as a threat to the power of the state. On the other hand, it was widely believed by pagans at the time that the refusal of the Christians to honor the pagan gods insulted the gods and brought down their wrath on the entire empire. So, Christians had to be eliminated for the sake of the common good.

 

Jews were tolerated because their religion pre-dated the Empire, and ancient traditions garnered more respect from the Romans, but their beliefs were only tolerated as long as they remained loyal to the Romans. At first, Christianity was seen as an offshoot, but eventually was seen as a threat and persecuted to varying degrees by different leaders. Torture and death were often used against the Christians who refused to recant their faith.