Title: Does Islam not Allow "Freewill" in Ascribing to a Belief? Question: I found this question and answer on another web site, and was very troubled by the last statement of the answer. Do Muslims not believe that we have a "freewill" to choose our religion? Thank you Jean R. AbiNader Managing Director, Arab American Institute Q: If Islam is tolerant of other faiths, please explain why two young American Christian women are currently imprisoned and sentenced to death in Afghanistan for simply professing their faith? A: The Taliban regime is not a mainstream Islamic group. Its leaders are fundamentalists who interpret the Qur'an literally. According to the Taliban, the two women are being imprisoned because they tried to convert Muslims in Afghanistan to Christianity and that is considered a religious crime in Islam. To convert to another religion from Islam is considered haraam , or forbidden." Fred Maynard Answer: This is an accurate representation of the commonly held opinion of the Muslim scholars. This opinion is actually the corollary of their opinion regarding the punishment for apostasy. It is generally held that apostasy is punishable by death. Obviously, if a person, who changes his religion is to be sentenced to death, then it would be quite accurate to say that it is prohibited to change one's religion (from Islam). In my opinion, as I have clarified in one of my earlier responses [1] , if seen in the light of the Qur'an, the death sentence for an apostate is not a punishment of universal application. This punishment was only meant for the direct addressees of the Messenger (pbuh) and was a part of the Divine Law relating to the punishment of rejection of the Truth, even after its ultimate manifestation through a messenger of God. Furthermore, if seen in the light of the Qur'an it is also clear that the punishment for death is meant only for those among the direct addressees of the Messenger, who reverted back to polytheism, after having accepted Islam at the hands of the Messenger of God. Under normal circumstances, every individual in this world is faced with the test of accepting and submitting to what he understands to be the Truth. This is, in fact, the true spirit of Islam. Islam does not want people to remain Muslims due to the fear of any penalty consequent upon their conversion. On the contrary, it wants people to remain Muslims and to convert to Islam because of their true commitment with what they have understood to be the Truth. In my opinion, therefore, the last statement of the cited author should actually read as: "To convert to another religion from Islam, even after being convinced that Islam is, in fact, the True religion that God wants us to ascribe to, is considered haraam , or forbidden." However, till the time that I write this response, Afghanistan has not yet officially sentenced the Christian women to any punishment. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad October 7, 2001 [1] Reference is to the response titled: " Punishment for Apostasy ".