Is apostasy illegal in Saudi Arabia?
Death penalty possible
Apostasy is actively enforced with the death penalty under Sharia law in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia 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
- 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.
- Yemen
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a crime in Yemen punishable by death under the Penal Code.
- Iraq
- Legal Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized in Iraq, though social and familial violence occurs.
- Jordan
- Criminal offense Apostasy is not explicitly banned in the penal code but carries serious civil and criminal penalties including prison and marriage annulment.
- United Arab Emirates
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a hudud crime in the Penal Code, punishable by death, though no executions have been recorded.
Other laws in Saudi Arabia
- Blasphemy Laws
- Death penalty possible
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Flag Desecration
- Criminal offense
- 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.