The war in Ukraine that started in 2022 when Russia invaded was one of the few wars where Ukraine instated a draft, forcing males between 25 – 50 to enter the military and fight for Ukraine. Lots of men have escaped by leaving the country or getting exceptions. The most amusing ones were the ones where the draftees have been hiding. Videos exist of these men being taken against their will to be recruited. Granted that Ukraine is fighting an existential threat from the Putin regime in Russia. The questions still arose, on if this would lead to weariness and later anger by the Ukrainians on fighting a war that they do not want to?
A military consisting of recruits who join voluntarily would have a higher morale than one. The recruits would take pride in the fact that everyone joined because they have similar interests and the success of the group. A happy union would be formed. It is for this reason, that the most powerful nation in the world, the USA, has not had a draft since the Vietnam war. Yet they have had enormous military successes in Iraq (x2), Grenada, Serbia, and Afghanistan. Yes, some of them may have been political failures but as a military the functioned amazingly and did not need a draft to make them more effective. In fact, having a draft would have made the war weariness arrive quicker.
Right at the year 1900, the population of the Muslim world was 90 million Still, by the end of the 21st century, the Muslim population will hit the 3 billion mark. The faith has grown tremendously in regions in Europe and even South America, where Islam was a flicker. Yet, critics of Islam often ask the question, what is the punishment for apostasy in Islam? They bring up how the faith is akin to a gang where individuals aren’t allowed to leave. We must ask, do we really want to have an individual in the faith if that person wants to leave it? Remember, if disallowed, this would attract the coverage of the international media that would destroy the image of Muslims. Even if this is not an issue, a lot of younger Muslims would be watching this and hold a grudge against the faith. Let’s explore this point with a specific example from the 2010s.
Meriam Ishag from South Sudan was born to a Muslim father and Christian mother. When she was older, she married a Christian man and was accused of leaving Islam. She was asked by the religious institutions to convert back into Islam of face death for apostasy. When she refused, the authorities responded by arresting her and shackling her to a prison. Mind you, Meriam was 8 months pregnant. Later, a religious scholar came to the prison to attempt to convert this shackled pregnant woman. She still refused. After much international pressure – including other Muslim countries, Meriam was granted asylum in the USA. From a publicity point of view, how did this make Muslims look? What did other Muslims think of this? Did this encourage others to enter the religion? The truth is the media outlets of the world responded with disgust and critics responded that Muslims were like a gang and did not allow others to leave. The worst consequence were the doubts ignited in young followers of the faith, that Islam was weak.
Islam is okay with people joining the faith at their convenience. Similarly, the faith would do fine if individuals decide to leave it. In fact, it would make us stronger and form a cohesive bond knowing we willingly follow the same path. The silver lining is that the newer reverts to Islam end up becoming the best leaders for the faith and will lead us forward better a person who is only there due to force. Apostasy laws have been relaxed in most Islamic countries, but occasionally there are radical preachers who want to punish an apostate. Muslims should stop this and understand that it is in the Ummah’s best interests to let individuals leave when they see best fit. Quality is better than quantity.
