. . . three in four Pakistanis surveyed favor a death penalty for those who leave Islam.
by Jerry Gordon, The Iconoclast, July 29, 2010
Looks like Pakistanis overwhelming approve of killing apostate from Islam, according to a release of polling data by the Pew Attitude Survey: three in four surveyed favor a death penalty for those who leave Islam.
Note these results from a sample survey of opinion taken from 2000 Pakistanis over the period from April 13-April 28, 2010
More than four-in-ten Pakistanis see a struggle taking place between Islamic fundamentalists and groups that want to modernize the country; and the vast majority of those who do see a struggle identify with the modernizers.
Nonetheless, many Pakistanis endorse extreme views about law, religion and society. More than eight-in-ten support segregating men and women in the workplace, stoning adulterers, and whipping and cutting off the hands of thieves. Roughly three-in-four endorse the death penalty for those who leave Islam.
Thus, even though Pakistanis largely reject extremist organizations, they embrace some of the severe laws advocated by such groups. Still, Pakistanis differ sharply with the Taliban and al Qaeda when it comes to a tactic associated with both groups: suicide bombing. Fully 80% of Pakistani Muslims say suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians can never be justified to defend Islam, the highest percentage among the Muslim publics surveyed. As recently as six years ago, only 35% held this view.
Watch this New America foundation video with Andy Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center explaining results and findings of this major survey of Pakistani opinion.
