[Editor: The author makes al
-‘Ādlī appear to be an Islamist, but discussions
with retired officers indicate that the
top of the Egyptian security, headed by al-‘Ādlī
is highly securalized . Statements that
reject a return of former Christians to their original faith seem to be in
line with this. His statements
that Islam is the religion of the state and the sharī’a is the main
source of legislation is
official Egyptian policy and is expected from a cabinet minister, but a statement that
“The Islamic
sharī‘a permits the killing of the apostate if he does not retract his
apostasy” is
not. And did he indeed refer to Qur’an 2: 217? Such references, without providing details about when
and
where the statements were made, give the impression that the author has given this article a particular slant.
Add to this, al-‘Ādlī rarely gives interviews or makes public statements, and so the
question arrises as to where the author found these alleged statements]
The Egyptian minister of
interior,
Major General Habīb al-‘Ādlī, Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the
Administrative
Judicial Court, headed by Judge Fārouq ‘Abd al-Qādir, asking the court to
dismiss the
lawsuits filed by 150 Copts who embraced Islam and afterwards decided to convert back to
Christianity and accusing
the converts of igniting sectarian sedition and threatening the national unity of
Egypt.
In his memorandum
to the court, the minister said that those who want to convert back to
Christianity should first be referred to the
Civil Status Department [Maslahat al-Ahwāl al-
Madanīya], under article 46 of law no. 143 of
the year 1994. Al-‘Ādlī indicated
that “Islam is the religion of the state and that the
principles of the Islamic
sharī‘a are the main source of legislation in Egypt.” He added
that the Egyptian
constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law, regardless of sex, origin,
language,
religion or creed.
“The Islamic sharī‘a permits the killing of the
apostate if
he does not retract his apostasy,” Nirmīn Jamāl quotes al-‘Ādlī
as saying
[Editor: Where would al-‘Ādlī have stated this? If he had indeed stated this, it
would
have caused a public outcry in Egypt]. According to the Islamic sharī‘a,
ridda
[apostasy] is defined as the rejection of Islam in word or deed by a person who has been a Muslim.
Therefore, in the light of the above-mentioned clarification, the minister said, some articles of the
constitution,
pertaining to religious freedom and equality among citizens, regardless of religion, should be
interpreted in a way
that is compatible with the Islamic sharī‘a. [Reviewer: The
interior minister is referring
to article 40, which reads: “All citizens are equal before the law. They have
equal public rights and duties
without discrimination between them due to race, ethnic origin, language,
religion or creed].
Moreover, the
minister argued that whoever converts to Islam of their own free
will is obliged to accept the teachings of Islam
and has the same rights and duties as Muslim born into the
faith. “And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his
disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both
in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of
the Fire: they will abide therein.” [Chapter of
al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 217, The Meaning of the Glorious
Qur’ān by Muhammad Marmaduke
Pickthall].
