RT Article
T1 Cyber-apostasy: its repercussions on Islam and interfaith relations*
JF Journal of contemporary religion
VO 32
IS 2
SP 189
OP 203
A1 Pulcini, Theodore 1954-
LA English
PB Carfax Publ.
YR 2017
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1571618155
AB In relations between Islam and the West, apostasy has been an issue of perennial contention. Although the Qur'anic perspective on apostasy is ambiguous, the ?adiths and later Islamic legal thought prescribe harsh sanctions against apostasy, making repudiation of Islam extremely difficult, if not impossible, in the Muslim world. Such a coercive approach contravenes the Western value of freedom of conscience and the correlative right to religious freedom. Moreover, the rise of a parallel form of Islam—online- or cyber-Islam—has complicated the issue of apostasy even further. For countless Muslims worldwide, this parallel expression of their religion, although virtual, is even more ‘real' than its offline, analogue expression. In this new Islamic expression, freedom of conscience can indeed be exercised. Online dissent, even to the point of engaging in ‘cyber-apostasy' and encouraging others to do likewise, has given rise to a new level of reciprocity between Islam and other religions interacting with it in the ‘marketplace of religions', thus opening a new chapter in the history of Islamic interaction with other faiths in the contemporary world.
K1 Apostasy
K1 Apostates
K1 Conscience
K1 Cyber
K1 ex-Muslims
K1 hadiths
K1 Interreligious
K1 Islam
K1 Muslims
K1 Qur'an
K1 Religious Freedom
K1 Web sites
DO 10.1080/13537903.2017.1298902