More hot air from DePaul, this time from M. Cherif Bassiouni

And we have the pleasure this afternoon to draw upon a new source of craziness from Catholic DePaul University, M. Cherif Bassiouni, a law professor.

From his DePaul biography:

M. Cherif Bassiouni is a Distinguished Research Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President of its International Human Rights Law Institute. He is also President of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in Siracusa, Italy, as well as the President of the International Association of Penal Law, based in Paris, France.

He has served the United Nations in a number of capacities, including: Member and then Chairman of the Security Council's Commission to Investigate War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia (1992-94); Commission on Human Rights' Independent Expert on The Rights to Restitution, Compensation and Rehabilitation for Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1998-2000); Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the 1998 Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court; and the Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1995). In 2004, he was appointed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as the Independent Expert on Human Rights in Afghanistan.

Author Robert Spencer in FrontPage Magazine points out on Sunday the Chicago Tribune (free registration may be required) carried a Bassiouni op-ed critical of the Trib's coverage of the Abdul Rahman apostasy trial in Afghanistan.

In short, as the headline phrased it, "Leaving Islam is not a capital crime."

Bassiouni neatly tucks the death penalty sentence for abandoning Islam as something that was pretty much abandoned in the first millenium. The DePaul professor mentions that Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia have no laws on the books regarding apostasy, and therefore, a death penalty for leaving Islam.

My take on this is that even within those somewhat enlightened nations, there is a vocal minority, and not just a miniscule splinter group, that wants to bring Islamic law, also known as Shari'a, to those countries.

Spencer, who is the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) states in FrontPage Magazine today.

Also, Paul Marshall notes: "Other countries, like Egypt, that have no laws against apostasy, instead use laws against 'insulting Islam' or 'creating sectarian strife.' In 2003, Egyptian security forces arrested 22 converts and people who had helped them. Some were tortured, and one, Isam Abdul Fathr, died in custody. Last year, Gaseer Mohamed Mahmoud was whipped and had his toenails pulled out by police, and was told he would be imprisoned until he gave up Christianity."

Bassiouni continues: "States that recognize it as a crime punishable by death include Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. However, there are no known cases in recent times in which someone charged with apostasy in these countries has been put to death."

However, Marshall asserts that "in the last ten years Saudi Arabia has executed people for the crimes of apostasy, heresy, and blasphemy" and "in the 1990s, the Islamic Republic of Iran used death squads against converts, including major Protestant leaders, and the situation is worsening under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The regime is currently engaged in a systematic campaign to track down and reconvert or kill those who have changed their religion from Islam."

But perhaps even more important than the simple inaccuracy of Bassiouni's statements here is the fact that if such laws are on the books, that is enough. They can then be reasserted at any time, even if they are ignored for long periods.

Bassiouni then quotes on Qur'anic passage, a favorite of CAIR's, that "there is no compulsion in religion."

But here is another Qur'an quote about apostates:

Sura 4:89: They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.

Hat tip to Steven Plaut.

UPDATE 4:00PM: Not sure how Dr. Bassiouni's fellow Muslims will view this information, but the DePaul School of Law was one of the plaintiffs in FAIR vs. Rumsfeld. DePaul was one of the schools that wanted to ban military recruiters from campus because of the Defense Department's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

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