Mick Hartley

The oddly named Egyptian cleric Samir Hashish talks about the hadith according to which Muslims should not be put to death for killing infidels. Some people, he says, use this hadith to justify killing non-Muslims. That's a misunderstanding. It's wrong to kill infidels. But not wrong enough to justify the death penalty.

"There is a hadith that says: "No Muslim may be killed for killing an infidel." Some people say that a Muslim who perpetrates a crime in a house of worship of non-Muslim has nothing to worry about, because a hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari exempts him from punishment and justifies his deed. In other words, he perpetrates this act because he believes that it is permitted by the hadith that says: "No Muslim may be killed for killing an infidel." Obviously, this is a deception. […]

"So what's the story behind this hadith? It doesn't mean that if someone kills a person from the People of the Book unjustly, he is committing a legitimate act. That's not what the hadith means. The hadith does not say that this is a legitimate act. The hadith merely excludes the death penalty from the possible punishments. If a Muslim kills a non-Muslim without a legitimate reason… Is he wrong to do so? Yes. Should he be punished? Yes. However, he should not be given the death penalty. The judge may give him any deterring punishment in his case, with the exception of the death penalty. Why? Because of the hadith that says that no Muslim may be killed for killing an infidel. Why is that? Because their lives are not worth the same. The blood of Muslims is more important. If you want to call this "racism", fine. Of course the blood of Muslims is more important."

Glad we've cleared that one up.