Because religion is absolutely not about mere outward compliance with the law. It is about belief -- it is about what a person believes in his heart. But in a nation where conversion away from Islam means death, then no believer can be sure that his own obedience is purely a matter of conscience.
I grew up in Somalia up until I was 6 years old. After it got messy my family wandered around east africa for three years until we came here. As a child non of the religious routines I followed gave me satisfaction nor did I ever care to fast or anything like that. My textual understanding of Islam and its history is a bit sketchy but I grew up in an Islamic culture and think I have a bit of a deeper understanding of the religion than you can gain from reading about it in books.
No religion that is merely about outward compliance with the law can flourish. If all that was holding in would be converters from Islam is a rule that said the converters would get killed I'm sure these people would mass immigrate to cultures in which religious tolerance is indeed practiced. They don't because Islam isn't just a mere "faith" one can adopt and then disregard. It's a culture and a movement that is inseparably tied to the very fabric of its followers' life.
While the citizens of muslim countries should have the right to convert, I highly doubt you would find many converts. Such a thing is unthinkable because in the hearts of its believers Islam remains as much a movement as did when Mohammed started gathering followers. It literary recognizes Judaism and Christianity and considers itself as an update to those religions and as the last religion. To even entertain the idea of conversion is like entertaining...incest.
Laws as such death for conversion are merely a symptom of this fact. A convert doesn't merely change "religion" but changes his relationship to society, his colleagues, and family. All are terrified that he would alter his relationship with them this way. Obviously the murder of converts is horrible and I hope said countries advanced one day to the point when such people have rights...but I think another perspective is needed here other than "they kill converts...not a peaceful religion after all!" A convert from Islam in an Islamic country is destructive to the sense of community the followers share and which is crucial to the religion. Hence the violent reaction.
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All you are saying is that Islam protects its monolithic unity by threatening death. This is the same thing that all Fascist powers use to justify their oppression. Ignorance and Fear as religious tenants are not acceptable.
Our interpreter once translated the words of a young boy telling his little sister to go beg from us "They have to give you something they are Christians..." Whatever unity Islam thinks it has, whatever control over hearts and minds, even the children of Iraq who have only dealt with our 'vicious' soldiers have come to associate the spirit of mercy and generosity with Christians. This may not be a true view, after all it is easy to be generous when you have wealth, but I look around me here and wonder where all the money is, it is clear that there is a great amount of wealth, but it is horded, and stored away elsewhere. It is not making life better for everyone.
I would also say that claiming that growing up Muslim gives you better understanding is the equivalent of saying a gang member is 'Street Smart' IE it is an excuse for ignorance. 66% illiteracy means that most Muslims are taking the word of someone in power as to what their religion says. I will put my money on those who have read and studied what passes for scripture and law in Islam, not the anecdotal evidence of someone so naive as to think masses of people can just leave for other parts to find freedom, that ship has sailed.
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Islam has monolithic unity? Somebody tell all the sects, they can stop killing each other!
edit: oh, and the Islamic world has the largest, most successful network of populist schooling free to all (muslim) comers, including extensive literacy programs.
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The Diglossia of modern Arabic is probably the best evidence I know of that millions were compelled to convert to Islam. Diglossia is a unique linguistic condition of people being "reeducated" in the Arabic language, but the subverbal characteristics of their native tongues persisted.
I do believe that Islam has the virtue of having a high degree of truth. God is the greatest and all must submit to him. The children of those who converted out of necessity came to love it.
The killing and terrorism we currently struggle with is not called for in the Koran if we are calling ourselves Jews or Christians. But the slaughter of unrepentant pagans and heathens is explicitly commanded. And if you read back in the various scriptures, God's people do commit incest from time to time.
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People of the Muslim faith are told not to harm "people of the book" IE Christians and Jews, as judaism and christianity are the first two layers of the great religion to which Islam is the final tier, the last prohphet, but by no means the last holy man, and the last religion. Judaism and Christianity are true, and are paths to god, this is simply the highest path.
And yes, unrepenting pagans, idolators, etc are to be killed or converted.
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Uh-huh. And this squares with being a 'religion of peace' in what way, exactly? "We're peaceful as long as you do what we say"? Or perhaps "We ahave made a desolation, and shall call it peace"?
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As a person of little religion, I'm often critical of those with strong faiths. I was raised Catholic but my parents always taught us to keep an open mind about the world. As such I have been able to see both the religious and the non-religious. I also have always been a questioning person, both of ideas, & their origins, and the reasoning that surrounds those ideas.
The religions of the world share many core values and though some have altered their views, others have not. I find that many state that Islam is one that has not altered and is "behind the times" as its members do condone what some consider barbaric acts.
But as the_Somolian said, "It's a culture and a movement that is inseparably tied to the very fabric of its followers' life."
The usual response would be to say that that reasoning is absurd and backward because they feel their beliefs are supreme. As well as to accuse the person of being ignorant of their own religion and to associate it with something violent or frightening.
The beliefs that people are raised under format what they will become in life. If your society dictates that being guilty of theft results in the loss of your hand, then the result of theft in that society is that if you get caught stealing, you will lose your hand.
For thousands of years slavery was an accepted practice throughout the world and is still accepted in some places still. In retrospect, people say "How horrible!", "How terrible!", "How could they do that to another person?". But that was what the society believed was necessary. As well, people were bought, sold, and treated like furniture. But there was little outcry because it was believed that the behavior was acceptable.
I have always felt, that before one looks at another's problems, one needs to solve their own. One's own country is often overlooked in favor of 'fixing' someone else's. Until their is universal freedom and rights for your own citizentry, stay out of other people's country.
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King of Men, it is a religion that preaches peace towards all those who are deserving of peace, people on the path to a salvation.
Idolatry, heathenism and such are named as cardinal sins by all faiths of the book. Those who are partaking in such are on a path to eternal damnation, and so it is the duty of the faithful to convert them, if they will not convert, then protect those of the faith from their influence.
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Somolia... What you offer is a great perspective and a thorough explanation of why the rule exists. It is not an excuse. To say that these people are violent against the apostate because of cultural fear instead of religious bigotry does not diminish our distrust and dislike of that policy and those who impose it.
Fear is the root of much evil.
Depression is fear turned inward. Violence is fear turned outward--Spider Robinson.
Bean Counter--don't draw too much attention to their wealth being consolidated in the hands of the few. Our proportedly Christian country now has almost a third of all the wealth in the hands of the top 1% of its people, and they are clammering for more. Those in the arab world who hold on to most of that money are those closest to the west, not those most Islamic.
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Very well, if that is the attitude of those who believe Mohammed's lies, then there is no reasoning with them, and they must die.
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