Is apostasy illegal in Jordan?
Criminal offense
Apostasy is not explicitly banned in the penal code but carries serious civil and criminal penalties including prison and marriage annulment.
Jordan is one of 9 countries classified “Criminal offense” for apostasy — 29% 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
- Palestine
- Criminal offense Apostasy is treated as defaming religion, punishable by imprisonment in the West Bank.
- Iraq
- Legal Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized in Iraq, though social and familial violence occurs.
- Turkey
- Legal Turkey is a secular country that does not legally enforce punishments for apostasy, though social pressures exist.
- Saudi Arabia
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is actively enforced with the death penalty under Sharia law in Saudi Arabia.
- Kuwait
- Criminal offense Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized but family courts can annul marriages and strip property and inheritance rights.
- Qatar
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a hudud crime under Law 11 of 2004, punishable by death.
Other laws in Jordan
- Blasphemy Laws
- Criminal offense
- 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.