Ethiopia: Muslim girl converts to Christianity, Muslims threaten to murder her
Even her family likely wants her dead. The Qur’an depicts Abraham saying to his non-Muslim relatives: “We have done with you. And there has arisen between us and you hostility and hatred forever, until you believe in Allah alone.” (60:4).
The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)
Of course, there is no real history of Abraham ever doing anything remotely like that. But the hostility is accurate as God's Angel spoke to Ishmael's mother, telling her that "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him..."
A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”
Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”
Teenage Girl Faces Death for Following Jesus
International Christian Concern, July 3, 2026:
Since she decided to follow Jesus in June 2025, 15-year-old Indii Mikaa’el has lost her education and the comfort of her home. She could also lose her life.
Born into a Muslim family in Haroji Wado, near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, Mikaa’el now lives under constant threats from her family and community. Although Christians worship freely and openly in Ethiopia, Christian converts from Islam in Muslim-majority areas often face violence and even death threats.
“When my family found out that I had decided to follow Jesus, everything turned against me; they became very hostile,” she recalled. “They said I had brought shame to the family; others told me I had betrayed my family and my community. They warned me that I would be killed if I did not go back to Islam.”
The persecution soon became life-threatening. Armed men were reportedly placed near her home in Dambi Dollo, with plans to kill her. Because of threats, she was forced to leave school in September 2025 while still in fifth grade.
“I live in fear every day,” Mikaa’el said. “I cannot sleep peacefully because of thinking about whether someone will attack me. Sometimes I feel trapped because there is nowhere safe for me to stay. I loved going to school, and I wanted to continue learning and have a better future. But the threats became serious, and I had to stop studying.”…
