Pew polled Muslims in 38 countries from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East and found overwhelming support for Sharia law — at least when applied to Muslims. Notably, there were exceptions with less support in Bangladesh, Tunisia and Lebanon.
We continue to treat our Muslim allies as enlightened governments when many still embrace this denial of a basic human right (as with common denial of other rights of woman and religious minorities). These countries cannot by definition be considered part of the “free world” when they mandate the execution of people for exercising this fundamental right to choose the religion (or the lack of religion) of their choice. Viewed from this perspective, we are spending billions on governments oppressing their citizens while our leaders continue to espouse the centrality of faith in their public lives.
Civil libertarians do not view such rights as a “western” or “American” view. Many often try to defend these oppressive nations by saying that we have no right to judge others. When it comes to our government, there is certainly a basis for charging hypocrisy on issues like torture and the denial of due process after 9-11. However, the right to choose your faith and the right to free speech is a human right not an American right. Support for punishing apostasy is a “red line” that separates a person from the free world. It is the most vile form of majoritarian tyranny and oppression.
Source: Washington Post