Uganda: Muslims cut off hands of convert from Islam to Christianity while reciting Qur’an verses

It could have been worse. Kalegeya Faruku’s Muslim relatives could have murdered him outright. If they had done so, they would not think they had done anything wrong. 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)

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.”

“Muslim Relatives Cut Off New Christian’s Hands in Uganda,” Morning Star News, May 8, 2026:

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Muslim relatives of a man in eastern Uganda who accepted Christ in March cut off his hands on April 17 in an attack over his new faith, sources said.

Kalegeya Faruku, 40, was recovering from severe injuries after the attack at about 7 p.m. at his family home in Jinja, in the district of the same name.

“I gave my life to Jesus in early March 2026, and my family members were not happy,” Faruku told a Morning Star News contact. “They became very angry and started sending me threatening messages about taking my life.”

Faruku said that on April 17 he returned home briefly to collect personal belongings before relocating to a safer place. He intended to travel to Busembatia Town Council in Bugweri District, where a friend who had shared the gospel with him resides.

Relatives ambushed him upon arrival, he said.

“I found my brothers waiting for me, as if they had been informed,” Faruku said. “My elder brother approached me and pretended to ask about my whereabouts. Suddenly, he grabbed me, and others surrounded me.”

They took him into the house and cut off his hands while reciting Islamic scripture, he said. Morning Star News has seen photos of the severed limbs. The relatives later transported him about five kilometers away and abandoned him near a crossroads, severely injured, Faruku said….