18 May 2014

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey calls on British Muslim leaders to back the right to convert from Islam

The peer said it was “accepted doctrine” that Muslim converts should face the death penalty. He also said there were examples of ex-Muslims in Britain who had been forced to “almost go underground”.

“Isn’t there something fundamentally wrong with Islam at its core that it cannot allow people to change their religion?” he told The Sunday Times.

“It is accepted doctrine in Islam [that] you don’t convert and if you do the penalty may be death.” He added: “I want to hear Muslim leaders say ‘we allow Muslims to become Christians if they wish to’.”

Lord Carey spoke out after Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was sentenced to death by a sharia court in Sudan after refusing to recant her Christian faith. The sentence has been suspended as she is pregnant.

[A COMMENT] I do know of one 'Muslim' who attends the mosque to keep up appearances. Privately, he tells me that it's all a load of nonsense.

[ANOTHER] I know quite a lot of those. It goes beyond "keeping up appearances". They're terrified of their families. It's sad to see, but it's been a very long time since it shocked me. [The Independent] Read more