Is apostasy illegal in Afghanistan?
Death penalty possible
Apostasy is a crime punishable by death under Hanafi jurisprudence applied by Afghan courts.
Afghanistan is one of 10 countries classified “Death penalty possible” for apostasy — 32% of the 31 with data. (Also searched as leaving a religion.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Apostasy in Islam by country
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Pakistan
- Criminal offense Apostasy is a criminal offence under hudood law per the Federal Shariat Court, despite lack of statutory enactment.
- United Arab Emirates
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a hudud crime in the Penal Code, punishable by death, though no executions have been recorded.
- Oman
- Criminal offense Oman lacks an explicit apostasy law, but personal status laws annul marriages and deny inheritance rights to apostates.
- Qatar
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a hudud crime under Law 11 of 2004, punishable by death.
- India
- Legal No federal law criminalizes apostasy in India, though social hostility exists.
- Kuwait
- Criminal offense Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized but family courts can annul marriages and strip property and inheritance rights.
Other laws in Afghanistan
- Blasphemy Laws
- Death penalty possible
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.