UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

In the current climate of religious intolerance, in particular vis-à-vis religious minorities,
the conversion of a Muslim to Christianity would result in ostracism as leaving Islam is
unacceptable in many communities and families. In certain cases, there is a risk that the
convert might be killed by his/her own family members, who consider themselves
disgraced by the person’s conversion.
According to Shari’a Law, a Muslim who converts to Christianity is considered an apostate
and the punishment can be execution. Although the Qur’an threatens apostates with eternal
retribution, it does not clearly specify any punishment in this world. Rather, the punishment
for apostasy is found in the Hadith (the written record of Prophet Mohammed’s words and
deeds). Although some contemporary Islamic scholars have repudiated the traditional
interpretation that the punishment required for apostasy is death, it is still widely held.
While there are no Shari’a courts in Iraq that could sentence a convert to death, 281
individual actors may take matters into their own hands and carry out attacks against
converts.
Although not forbidden by law, the State of Iraq does not recognize conversions from Islam
to Christianity or to other religions. Converts have no legal means to register their change
in religious status. Iraq’s Personal Status Law (Law No. 188 of 1959) 282 denies converts
any inheritance rights. 283 Furthermore, Muslims who convert to Christianity may, in
practice, be subject to other forms of severe discrimination, as their family/community may
force their spouses into divorce or confiscate their properties. In addition they are
reportedly often harassed by government officials and police. 284
It is highly unlikely that a crime committed against a convert, be it by his/her family or by
Islamist groups, would be properly investigated and prosecuted in Iraq, either in
Central/Southern Iraq or the three Northern Governorates under administration of the KRG.
In Central/Southern Iraq, the police are unlikely to provide protection, perhaps due to lack
of personnel/equipment, fear of armed Islamist groups or sympathy with the perpetrators. In
the KRG-administered areas, the general population does not tolerate a Muslim’s
conversion to Christianity and, accordingly, law enforcement organs are unwilling to
interfere and provide protection to a convert at risk. 285
281
It is not yet clear how the provisions relating to Islam in the Constitution will be applied in practice.
282
See “Personal Status”.
283
If a person converts from Islam to Christianity, he will not be able to inherit from his wife or parents as
they are Muslims while he is a Christian. A Non-Muslim cannot inherit from his family according to Islamic
law.
284
Information received by UNHCR Iraq.
285
See, for example, a statement by Sulaymaniyah’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Muhammed Ahmed
Gaznayi, saying that people who turn to Christianity are “renegades” in the eyes of Islam and “I consider that
those who turn to Christianity pose a threat to society”; see IWPR, Kurdish Converts to Christianity
Ostracised By Society and Family, Iraqi Crisis Report No. 130, 28 June 2005, http://iwpr.net/index.php?
apc_state=hen&s=o&o=archive/irq/irq_130_5_eng.txt.
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