The "crime" of apostasy
There are all kinds of unsettling things about this video. But to me, one of the most unsettling was seeling the Muslim groups protesting and carrying banners saying, "Don't disturb our religion". Yet they don't realise that they're disturbing other people's religions.
Actually nobody wants to disturb anybody's religion. People just want the right to choose. So okay, if somebody no longer wants to be a Muslim, I understand you think that's a lousy decision. Maybe you even think it's dumb. I mean, I'm not too happy when I hear that a Christian decides to stop being a Christian, either. But when we say, "Let them choose," you say we're disturbing your religion? And let's say the person claims to be practicing some other religion -- can't those people then say that you're disturbing theirs instead?
I've never quite understood the protective stance the authorities here take towards the Muslim religion. It's almost as if they don't quite trust the merits of the faith itself. Like they don't believe that it could stand up on its own. Otherwise why so scared to let people convert out? Seems to me that if you truly believed your faith was the one true faith, you'd trust that people would be bound to see it sooner or later. Just a matter of time.
Plus I don't think you can force people to believe. That's why faith is called faith. You either believe or you don't. What's the point of making people make outward gestures of worship and observance when their hearts are empty? Is that what God -- any God -- wants? For people just to go through the motions because they are supposed to be Christians or Muslims or Hindus or whatever?
We Christians believe in free will. God lets you choose. And both Christianity and Islam contain a concept of hell. I suppose you could put it this way: if you don't choose this path and it turns out to really be the right path, then aren't the consequences punishment enough? Do we really need to punish people for apostasy? That's like making ourselves God. We have the right to impose judgement on others for not following our religion! We are God's chosen ones and we must make sure that none of the sheep stray! We must force them to stay in the pen even if they have already made a home somewhere else! I don't think so.
If that were the kind of God my fellow Christians believed in, I'm not sure I would want to be a Christian either.