Islam does not call for the killing of apostates

There has been a lot of criticism of Islam by conservative media outlets, and one thing I see many of them claiming in their criticisms is that Islam requires the death penalty for those who leave the religion. This is completely false. My opponent will try to prove it true.

(Before accepting this debate, please note that you have only 24 hours to reply to arguments. Thank you.)

Definition: An apostate is someone who leaves a religion.

Rules:

1. We will only be using the Quran in this debate not the actions of Muslims or the sunnah or the hadeeth (The sunnah and hadeeth are the recorded actions and sayings of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Most are false and they are frequently contradictory on important subjects. That is why only the Quran shall be used in this debate).

2. Please do not go off on a tangent such as women's rights or terrorism in Islam. Those are completely different topics that do not pertain here.

3. You may begin your arguments immediately in the first round. It is not just for acceptance.

I wish my opponent luck and I hope this will be a good debate.

Does ISLAM call for the killing of apostates?

Taken from http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/012-apostasy.htm
Question:

Does Islam proscribe the death penalty for Muslims who wish to embrace another religion?

Answer:

Those who turn their back on Islam are to be executed.
W

According to Islam, the Quran contains the exact words of the only god of the universe. It is complete, perfect, eternal and universal.

following verses taken from the KORAN .
Which is arguably the most unpleasant book in all of fiction , the QU'RAN explicitly demands death for ANYONE who choses to leave this totalitarian, misogynistic, homophobic, racist, genocidal, sadomasochistic , religion.

You broke both of the rules of this debate. But I will continue with the debate if you still want to.

It saddens me that a man calling himself a muslim knows so little about islam that he actually says the only reason Islam survives is because it had to scare or kill everyone into submission. He is no better than conservative critics that say the same. Never mind the fact the most populous Muslim country, indonesia, was never visited by an islamic army. But I'm not concerned with what him or any other so-called "scholar" of islam says. The interpretation of those who prohibit women from education, even though Islam clearly allows education for women, and prohibit them also from driving, and oppress men by forcing them to grow beards, even though beards are NOT mandatory in Islam, doesn't mean much to me. I'm concerned with what god says in the Quran.

Here are verses about apostasy:

Noble Verse 3:90 "But those who reject faith after they accepted it, and then go on adding to their defiance of faith never will their repentance be accepted; for they are those who have (of set purpose) gone astray."

Noble Verse 4:137 "Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief,- Allah will not forgive them nor guide them nor guide them on the way."
(Notice that the Quran says those who reject faith and then BELIEVE and again DISBELIEVE. If a Muslim rejects faith and is then killed for doing so how will he live to again BELIEVE and then DISBELIEVE. The atmosphere of this verse is that of free will and freedom of choice to everyone. If Allah wanted he would have said something about the punishment, if there was any, of those who reject Islam after accepting it. but Allah takes this to be clearly a private matter between them and Allah.)

Here are two verses that deal explicitly with apostates. It does not order anywhere to kill them or torture them. It says that they will be punished in the afterlife.

Your hadiths make no sense when you look at these verses. Why would Muhammad (pbuh) say to kill apostates when it says nowhere in the Quran to do this? This man's life was dedicated to God and his religion, Islam. He would be violating Islam if he did order the killing of apostates since it says in the Quran:

Noble verse 6:151 says, "and do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct, save lawfully." (i.e. You cannot kill anyone except if they have broken a law).

As I have shown, nowhere in the Quran is there a law that commands the killing of apostates, so the hadiths you have cited are in direct contradiction with the Quran. The prophet would never violate God's law. In these cases the Quran has to be followed instead of the hadith, since the Quran was revealed by God and free from error while the hadiths and sunnah have definitely been corrupted by people over the past 1400 years. These hadiths are most certainly false (which is why I don't like using hadiths or sunnah in debates since you cannot know for sure which are true and which are false).

As for your verses, every single one was revealed when the Muslims were fighting the Quraish tribe, their mortal enemies and oppressors. Theses verses command the Muslims to fight back against them, not to find all non-believers or apostates and kill them. In fact, it never mentions apostates in any of your Quranic verses. These verses were for a specific time and place, which unfortunately, many people, Muslim and non-Muslim, don't understand. They do not mean to force people to become Muslim or kill them, for its says in the Quran:

Noble Verse 2:256 "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things."

The Quran chapter "The Cow," 2:190, says, "Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! God loveth not aggressors."

Noble verse 8:61 "But if the enemies incline towards peace, do you also incline towards peace. And trust in God! For He is the one who hears and knows all things."

In black and white, as clear as can be it says that you cannot force people into Islam or start wars, and you must make peace if the enemy asks for it. Muslims did not attack the Quraish, the Quraish attacked them and God is simply telling the Muslims to fight back.

You said:

This verse (9:11-12) is speaking of infidels (ie. "slay the infidels wherever you find them" 9:5) who obviously became Muslim to escape the sword, but the Hadith make no distinction of how a Muslim came to be a Muslim. Apostasy is always punished by death.

I don't get what you are trying to say here, since the verse makes no mention of any "infidel" converting to Islam and then being killed.

I look forward to you arguments.