And as the son of a convert from Islam, he ought to know what ex-Muslims face at the hands of the members of their former religion.

One of the Church of England's most senior bishops is warning that people will die unless Muslim leaders in Britain speak out in defence of the right to change faith.

Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, whose father converted from Islam to Christianity in Pakistan, says he is looking to Muslim leaders in Britain to 'uphold basic civil liberties, including the right for people to believe what they wish to believe and to even change their beliefs if they wish to do so'.

Some Islamic texts brand Muslims who convert to other faiths as 'apostates' and call for them to be punished. Seven of the world's 57 Islamic states - including Iran - impose the death penalty for conversion.

Now Ali, who some see as a potential Archbishop of Canterbury, has told Channel 4's Dispatches programme of his fears about the safety of the estimated 3,000 Muslims who have converted to other faiths in Britain.

'It is very common in the world today, including in this country, for people who have changed their faith, particularly from being Muslim to being Christian, to be ostracised, to lose their job, for their marriages to be dissolved, for children to be taken away,' Ali said. 'And this is why some leadership is necessary from Muslim leaders themselves to say that this is not what Islam teaches.'

The problem is that this is what Islam teaches -- and while only 7 islamic countries impose that penalty under their laws, in many others they prohibit conversion and impose OTHER penalties upon those who leave Islam. Indeed, they tend not to punish the murders of such converts, either.

And when you consider this statistic from a recent poll, it strikes me that there is a much bigger problem at hand. A sizable group of British Muslims want to see the death penalty imposed upon those who convert away from Islam.

A poll of more than 1,000 British Muslims, conducted by the Policy Exchange think-tank this year, found that 36 per cent of Muslims aged between 16 and 24 believe those who convert to another faith should be punished by death.

Wouldn't you love to know the numbers here in the United States? Like any polling company would have the 'nads to ask that question.

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