Egypt's official religious advisor has ruled that Muslims are free to change their faith as it is a matter between an individual and God.
"The essential question before us is can a person who is Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can," Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum entitled 'Muslims Speak Out.".
Later this statement was refuted by the mufti in a statement carried by the official Egyptian news agency MENA.
"The act of abandoning one's religion is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgement. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment," the forum wrote in quotes that were picked up by the Egyptian press.
However, according to the denial, "the mufti said that Islam forbids Muslims from renouncing their faith ... and that if a Muslim did they would be committing a mortal sin."
"Sheikh Ali Gomaa said apostasy is a kind of subversion and a sort of crime that requires punishment," the statement said, while also clarifying that Islam allows other religions to practise freely.
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