AFP yesterday reported that Egyptian Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa says that converting out of Islam "is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgement. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment." He said that only conversions that undermine the "foundations of society" should be dealt with by the judicial system. Hossam Bahgat, a lawyer for 12 Copts who converted to Islam and now want to convert back to Christianity, says he will cite Gomaa's statement in his presentation of his clients' case to the Supreme Court of Egypt in September. Up to now, the government has generally refused to recognize conversions out of Islam in official documents. Gomaa is the state's chief legal adviser and is technically the deputy minister of justice.
UPDATE: A July 26 post on Volokh Conspiracy reports on a subsequent statement from Gomaa that appears to somewhat back off of his earlier comments.
