Raif Badawi is a Saudi intellectual, blogger and editor of a liberal website who faces the death penalty in his home country. The crime of which he stands accused is "committing apostasy". But there's a catch: Badwai never renounced his religion, Islam. Choosing one's religion is a fundamental human right, but the case of Raif Badawi has very little to do with the right to choose one's religion and everything to do with politics.
His website (Free Saudi Liberals) was a platform for serious discussion of liberal ideas, religious authorities and the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nowhere did he ever say anything about stopping being a Muslim. [Qantara.de] Read more
