Moroccan Council calls for death to Islamic apostates
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
RABAT, MOROCCO (Worthy News)– This week the Supreme Ulema Council in Morocco published a fatwa calling for the death penalty for all apostates to Islam.
According to Agence France-Presse, the Ulema Council published the religious ruling in the Arabic-language daily Akhbar al-Youm Tuesday; the ruling stated that Muslims who renounce their faith “should be condemned to death”.
Although apostasy is illegal in most Islamic states and often fatal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Article 220 of Morocco’s Penal Code only mandates a maximum of three years in prison for undermining the faith of any Muslim, according to International Christian Concern.
“We are deeply concerned about the proposed fatwa which would warrant the death sentence for Muslims accused of apostasy,” said Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East. “We urge the Moroccan government to safeguard the religious freedoms of all Moroccans and to reject edicts that would constitute a breach of the country’s international human rights obligations.”