When Can You Say That a Person is No Longer a Muslim?: Q&A with Professor Abdullahi An-Naim

Emory Law Professor Abdullahi An-Naim answers questions following his lecture at Ohio University, May 2008.
More on Professor An-Naims project, The Future of Shari'a: Secularism from an Islamic Perspective, may be found at sharia.law.emory.edu
Connect with Professor An-Naim on Facebook: facebook.com/abdullahi.annaim
Follow Professor An-Naim on Twitter: twitter.com/ShariaLaw

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Ohio University
• Secular state
• definition of a muslim
• religion
• Sharia
• Islam
• Islamic
• Islamic studies
• politics
• book
• political
• Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
• Atlanta
• Georgia
• GA

[ThinkingAgent12]

What kind of stupid question is that to ask such a great intelluct, us muslims need to listen to inviduals like this. Our only hope for success and progression in the muslim countries.

[theminkyminky]

This is just phenomenal!!

I hope Muslims will be able to understand what this professor has said as being the corner stone for Islam to come back into Muslims life to make it peaceful and rich life as it is meant to be., not killing and murdering others and their fellow Muslims!!

Ahmed

[the1qfactor]

What a brilliant lecture.  Alas, only if the ignorant Mullahs of Pakistan had 1/100th the intelligence this noble professor demonstrates. May Allah bless him for his sincerity and commitment to truth.

[noobler9]

on the one hand, technically a lot of so-called muslims, aren't, however it's REALLY expedient to say that they are so they give a mellowed out vision of islam, and change other people's opinions of it

it worked for christianity, why can't it work with islam?

the only problem is then we get a lot of people saying it's great, when it's ... questionable at best, luckily at this point they usually don't follow what they say they believe in, because they don't know what it means to be one in reality

[bilalkhanxxx]

the time of religions are over and time of humanity is coming agian.. no religion except humanity

[saloya2712]

he answered it right there whether you are a muslim or not if you commited crime then you should be punished and you should obey the law...so in other words your religion is a personal thing and it should be between you and God. The point of his teaching is to separate the state frm religion.

[sadabhar]

Professor is somehow missing the point here. While I agree that every individual should not decree in the matters of Islam and Kufr and this is what traditional scholars have maintained throughout Islamic histry, we need to detrmine who is muslim and whio is not when it comes to application of Islamic law. If we accept what professor says, anyone will say that look I am not muslim when facing prosecution