Asian News: A group of Christians and Muslims from Algeria, Morocco and France have planned a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Saint Augustine, their countryman, that will lead them to Milan and Pavia, where the remains of the North African saint of Hippo lie. There are several Muslim converts to Christianity among the group, some for over 40 years, others for just over a year. Read more here.
And, yes, there is controversy, both from tepid prelates who discourage such conversions, and, as you would expect, from Mohammedan zealots. It is against Moslem law to convert to another religion. The punishment is death. But Mohammedanism claims to be a “merciful” religion. So, if the guilty one recants and returns to Islam he will be spared. When an Afghan Abdul Rahman, convert to Catholicism in February 2006, he was arrested and threatened with the death penalty, He eventually found refuge in Italy. Ansarullah Mawlawizadah, the chief judge in the case, had this to say regarding Rahman: “the Prophet Muhammad has said several times that those who convert from Islam should be killed if they refuse to come back, Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity. That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, then we will forgive him”. Read more on this here.
