Harvard's Imam, Taha Abdul-Basser, wrote in an email about the Islamic law practice of killing Muslims who leave Islam back in April. His email was in response to a debate that some MIT students had about this practice. Then, it was posted to the Internet. His picture above is from his blog's profile.
Abdul-Basser wrote apostates can only really be killed by a legitimate“Muslim governmental authority and can not be performed by non-state, private actors.” He discouraged others from discussing this issue which is the typical way Islamists try to shutter discussion about some of the very troubling verses, practices and religious rulings in Islam. It's a clear warning sign and we all should pay attention. Think about it, this man represents the religion of Islam at the University of Harvard!
Below are some excerpts from Abdul-Basser's email::
Wa-iyyakum.
I am familiar with these types of discussions.
While I understand that will happen and that there is some benefit in them, in the main, it would be better if people were to withhold from _debating_ such things, since they tend not to have the requisite familiarity with issues and competence to deal with them.
Debating about religious matter is impermissible, in general, and people rarely observe the etiquette of disagreements.
There are a few places on the Net where one can find informed discussions of this issue (Search ["Abdul Hakim Murad"|Faraz Rabbani" AND "apostasy"]) . The preponderant position in all of the 4 sunni madhahib (and apparently others of the remaining eight according to one contemporary `alim) is that the verdict is capital punishment.
"...I would finally note that there is great wisdom (hikma) associated with the established and preserved position (capital punishment) and so, even if it makes some uncomfortable in the face of the hegemonic modern human rights discourse, one should not dismiss it out of hand. The formal consideration of excuses for the accused and the absence of Muslim governmental authority in our case here in the North/West is for dealing with the issue practically.
Debating religious matters is impermissable? Is this man actually an employee of Harvard? Folks, this is exactly how Sharia Law imposes rules on Muslims in Islamic countries which forbids them from questioning their religion.
Statement by statement, Islamists are planting their seeds in America.
Lastly, when columnist Dinana West wrote about this on April 24th in the Washington Times she said; "Certainly, one should not dismiss Mr. Abdul-Basser out of hand - or the chilling implications of what it means to have a religious leader at Harvard validate the ultimate act of Islamic religious persecution. West also contacted Harvard for a response which they decided to ignore. In a faxed statement she recevied from the Imam he denied he held these views personally. If so, why did he write there was great wisdom to the practice of capital punishment for apostates? Those were his words and his thoughts. He even encouraged those he wrote the e-mail to, not to dismiss this position outright.
Way to go Harvard!
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e-mail (posted at Talk Islam)
04/28/09: Tolerating Intolerance The Harvard Salient
"...Furthermore, Mr. Abdul-Basser, according to the Harvard Chaplains website, is supposed to have “agreed to honor the religious freedom, human dignity, conscience, personal spiritual welfare and the religious tradition of every person to whom they minister.” Yet the dominant discourse on apostasy within Islam supported by Mr. Abdul-Basser is one that stands in opposition to the “religious freedom” that each chaplain is supposed to champion. Furthermore, Mr. Abdul-Basser’s position on human rights, now a matter of public record, also appears contrary to the values of “human dignity” and “personal spiritual welfare” that Harvard seeks to inculcate in both its students and its religious leaders..."
