While several scholars demanded a review of the punishment for apostates in the light of the changing modern values, others refuted their argument saying the original Islamic texts call for harsh punishments. “Religious freedom is a right that should be guaranteed to every human being. We have come here to present and discuss different viewpoints and we should do it in order to reach the right solution,” said Mahmoud Zaqzouq, Egypt's minister of endowments. Some participants doubted the validity of texts quoted in support of the beheading of apostates. On the other hand, several others were adamant in their refusal to the demand for a lighter approach toward apostates in the name of freedom of religion. “The view that Islamic scholars of the past had different views on how to punish apostates is incorrect. They only disagreed on how soon apostates should be executed; should it be done in three days, one week or few months. The waiting time is left to the discretion of the ruler,” said Muhammad Al-Nujaimi, a professor at the Higher Institute of Law in Riyadh. June 3, 2012 update : Darul Uloom Deoband, a key Indian Muslim institution, has delivered what MEMRI calls “a revolutionary fatwa (edict) against polygamy , advising Muslims in India not to contract a second marriage.” Their fatwa reads, in the unedited English: निष्कर्ष रूप में यही विचार है: अमेरिका के लोगों के पास इस्लाम का ज्ञान है जो कि प्रभावित करने लायक है। उग्रवादी इस्लाम के प्रति क्षमाप्रार्थी का भाव रखने वालों के दावे के विपरीत कि अमेरिका के लोग इस सम्बंध में अज्ञानी हैं मेरे पाठक जानते हैं कि वे किस विषय में बात कर रहे हैं। उनकी समालोचना कुछ अवसरों पर काफी ज्ञानवर्धक (जैसे कि कुरान में कुछ विषय समाप्त किये जाने पर) और कुछ अवसरों पर यह अभिव्यक्ति से भरपूर है( अगली बार जब सडक पर या भवन में इजरायल के नागरिक को समाप्त करने से सम्बंधित कोई फिल्म क्लिप देखें जो जरा सोचें कि वास्तव में बुराई कहाँ है” )
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Apr. 11, 2012 update : Ha'aretz opened its pages to Carl Perkal , a self-described “documentary film producer and media consultant living in Israel.” to attack this column in “Daniel Pipes' attack on Israeli Arabs is baseless and inflammatory.” I am accused of writing “an aggressive and confused jumble of half-truths and misunderstandings about the Arabs citizens of Israel.” Trouble is, I barely recognize what I wrote in Perkal's “baseless and inflammatory” attack on me. So, I won't respond to it. Apr. 22, 2012 update : Happily, Ariel Solomon replied to Perkal today in the Times of Israel , in “ Haaretz Publishes Spurious Attack Against Daniel Pipes.” Solomon comments there that “In his delusional piece, Perkal makes a number of erroneous arguments, writing as if he did not actually read Pipes's article.” Precisely. May 15, 2012 update : Perkal goes another round at “A Reply to Ariel Solomon,” where he disagrees with many specifics and concludes rather grandly by advising Solomon to “respond to the bigger picture as I have presented it both here and in my previous article. The fate of Israel may well depend on it.” Related Topics: Israel & Zionism , Palestinians receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL. Comment on this item बिडम्बना है कि इन कार्यों का सबसे बडा परिणाम यह होगा कि अधिकतर अरब इजरायली मुखर रूप से यहूदी राज्य के अस्वामिभक्त नागरिक बने रहेंगे ( फिलीस्तीनी राज्य के स्वामिभक्त नागरिक के विपरीत) । इससे आगे अनेक मध्य पूर्वी मुस्लिम इजरायली बनने की आकाँक्षा रखते हैं ( जिसे मैं मुस्लिम आलिया कहता हूँ) । मेरे अनुसार इन प्राथमिकताओं से इजरायल की सरकार कठिन स्थिति में आ जायेगी और इसके लिये पर्याप्त प्रतिक्रिया नहीं दे पायेगी जिसके चलते आज जो कुछ शांतिपूर्ण दिख रहा है वह कल के लिये समस्या बन जायेगा।
