Mauritania’s hardening of its already draconian “Law of Apostasy” is in breach of the most basic understanding of God’s mercy – let alone of basic human rights

By Raffi Chilingirian

Mauritania recently toughened its blasphemy law. In accordance with the previous law, anyone convicted of “denigrating the name of the Prophet” or “speaking ill of Islamic values” is subject to the death penalty, but are offered the opportunity to soften the sentence if they repent.

On the 27^th of April 2018, the National Assembly of Mauritania passed a new law replacing article 306 of the Criminal Code. The revised law cancels the possibility of substituting the death penalty for prison time by recanting on the “blasphemous speech” or “sacrilegious acts.”

More than twenty non-governmental human rights organizations have decried the new law, calling on the government of Mauritania to reverse the adoption of the law and repeal the death penalty for cases of blasphemy.

However, the Minister of Justice Brahim Ould Daddah clearly stated that, “Every Muslim, man or woman, who mocks or insults Mohammed (peace be upon him), his angels, books, is liable to face the death penalty, without being asked to repent. They will incur the death penalty even if they repent.”

Analysis and Reflection

The issue began when Mkhaïtir, a Mauritanian blogger, published a blog post claiming that discrimination in Mauritania was tolerated and justified on the basis of religion. He was detained and sentenced to two years of prison. Upon serving his years in prison, the government did not release him for his own personal safety, due to the many threats that he had received. During the trials, there were thousands of protestors on the streets demanding Mkhaïtir to be put to death for criticizing Islam.

Mauritania is a Muslim country, where the majority are Sunni Muslims. Very few Christians, mainly Catholics and some Protestants, live in Mauritania, including expatriates. Proselytism is strictly forbidden and is punishable by death.

The new law abrogates article 306 that allowed prison time for those who repented. Although Mauritania has ratified several human rights policies that aim to protect the right to life, under the new law a convict is subject to the death penalty even upon repentance.

The older form of the law reflected the mainstream tradition of Islamic jurisprudence regarding punishment for “blasphemy.” The update reflects the toughest interpretation, which had always represented minority opinion in the great compendia of Islamic Law. From a religious point of view, the idea that rahma (mercy) is totally excluded as an option for a person who has “erred” is highly problematic. How can that person not be shown compassion and protected from the implications of the law when he or she wholeheartedly repents? Islamic Law claims to be restaurative, not just punitive.

We pray for the Muslim religious clerics in Mauritania to soften their hearts and to provide rahma and compassion as God provides to anyone who repents.

We pray for the Mauritanian government and the authorities for wisdom in dealing with this matter and to reconsider the new law.

We pray for the safety of the Christian communities, as this new law could target not only Muslims but also Christians.