In Sudan, pregnant Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, 27, has been sentenced to hang to death for renouncing Islam and marrying a Christian. One wonders, how can you decide to kill a woman just because she converts to another faith? Well, in Sudan, it is a crime termed Apostasy!
Sudan has a majority Muslim population, which is governed by Islamic law. It rules that apostasy – the abandonment of one’s religious faith – is a crime. The judge who handled the case of Meriam also sentenced her to 100 lashes after convicting her of adultery – because her marriage to a Christian man was not valid under Islamic law, which says Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslims.
Earlier in the hearing, an Islamic cleric spoke with Meriam in a caged dock for about 30 minutes, AFP reports.
Then she calmly told the judge: “I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy.”
He responded to her, “We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death.”
Local media report the sentence would not be carried out for two years after she has given birth. Rights groups have begun to urge Sudan to respect the right of the pregnant woman to choose her religion. In the court, the judge addressed her by her Muslim name, Adraf Al-Hadi Mohammed Abdullah.
However, Amnesty International said the woman, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag, was raised according to her mother’s religion as an Orthodox Christian, because her Muslim father was reportedly absent during her childhood.
The unfortunate thing is that since her marriage has been ruled void, her husband cannot even visit her in prison. So sad.
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H/T The Nation Online
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