I've been meaning to post this for a few days. The following is a combination of a couple of e-mails I sent to URI mailing lists looking for some dialogue on the issue. Since I wrote them, it has been announced that the man in question will be freed, at least for the time being, as they do not yet have sufficient evidence to actually prosecute him. I'm still interested in hearing individual views on the issue.
When I first saw the headlines about a Christian “apostate” a week ago, days ago, I suspected the issue would quickly come up in URI discussions. I too — with all due respect — am curious to hear a response from our Muslims friends and colleagues in this forum.
As a Baha’i I have become aware of Islam’s clear tradition linking apostasy with the punishment of execution. Though I have not personally found any statements in the Qur’an that absolutely advocate execution, there are Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet) and commentary linking the crime and punishment (excellent article on the subject: http://jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001590.php)