Apostasy

"AbuMusa said: Muadh came to me when I was in the Yemen. A man who was Jew embraced Islam and then retreated from Islam. When Muadh came, he said: I will not come down from my mount until he is killed. He was then killed. One of them said: He was asked to repent before that."

"If apostasy comes in the form of a crime, transgression, or high treason, it is only natural that it will be treated as a crime that must be fought, and must carry a certain punishment. But if apostasy does not constitute a danger or crime against society, I believe that society does not need to deal with this issue. We should be aware that the concepts of human rights are full of ticking time bombs. My opinion was – and I said this [in the West] – that no Muslim society could ever consider sexual liberty, homosexuality and so on to be a personal right. Muslim societies consider these things to be diseases, which must be fought and treated. […] And protection of moral values too. The problem is that the [Islamic and Western] civilizations are different. Our civilization is based on religion and moral values, whereas their civilization is based more on personal liberties and some moral values.” […] As I said, if an apostate has left Islam out of hatred toward it, and with the purpose of acting against it – this is considered high treason, because this is a Muslim society, which has had Islam for 1,400 years and other religions for over 5,000 years. One does not have the right to… In this case, apostasy is a rebellion against society. It is a rebellion both against religion and what is held sacrosanct by society."

"...Ex-Muslims are subjected to death, you are not allowed to be not to be a Muslim...locked up, abused and even worse killed...a lot of women after leaving Islamare subjected to emotional, physical and mental abuse by their family for rejecting any values...you are a Muslim or you are dead according to Sharia law...A lot of this is prevalent in Middle East and other theocratic countries but not limited to them.Its not unheard of in the west with Muslim Societies..."

"Since first that great Apostacy took place in the Hearts and Heads of those who began even in the Apostles days, to depart from the simplicity and purity of the Gospel, as it was then delivered in its primitive Splendor and Integrity, innumerable have been the manifold Inventions and Traditions, the different and various Notions and Opinions, wherewith Man (by giving way to the vain and airy Imaginations of his own unstable mind) hath burdened the Christian Faith: so that indeed, first by adding these things, and afterwards by equalling them, if not exalting them above the Truth, they have at last come to be substitute in the stead of it; so that in process of time, Truth came to be shut out of doors, and another thing placed in the room thereof, having a shew and a Name, but wanting the substance and thing itself: Nevertheless it pleased God to raise up Witnesses for himself almost in every Age and Generation, who, according to the Discoveries they received, bore some Testimony, less or more, against the Superstition and Apostacy of the time; and in special manner through the appearing of that Light which first broke forth in Germany about One hundred and fifty years ago, and afterwards reached divers other Nations; the Beast received a deadly Wound: and a very great Number did at one time Protest against, and Rescind from the Church of Rome in divers of their most gross and sensual Doctrines and superstitious Traditions: But alas! it is for matter of lamentation, that the Successors of these Protestants are Establishing and Building up in themselves that which their Fathers were pulling down, instead of prosecuting and going on with so Good and Honourable a Work; which will easily appear."

"Still in the garden shadows art Thou pleading, Staining the night dews with Thine agony; But one is there Thy woe and prayer unheeding, And to their guileless prey Thy murderers leading, Lord, is it I?"

"Apostates often became such because they underwent a process of socialization within the anti-cult community and ideology and because of the activism they demonstrate in fighting the movements they left behind. These factors are in themselves obviously relevant in terms of bias and prejudice. To accept that the version told by apostates about a new religious movement is “the truth” would be like judging the moral status of a divorced person based only on the testimony of an angry ex-spouse, or basing one’s understanding of the Catholic Church solely on the testimony of former priests who have reasons to resent it."

"The kiss of the apostate was the most bitter earthly ingredient in the agonies which Christ endured."

"Apostasy fired her blood as love had done."