Thesis Summary
Shahrur holds that apostasy in the tradition became intertwined with the religious and the political, and was often an expression of a struggle for power. He also maintains that no worldly punishment is established for the apostate; instead, the effect of apostasy is tied to eschatological frustration.
Foundational Atoms
Place of Reliance within the Book
This treatment appears in the middle section and the early parts of the book, within the discussion of apostasy and the consequences of applying the texts outside their historical context.
Limits of the Reading
This summary does not negate the doctrinal dimension of apostasy, but it restricts what is relied upon here to the absence of a worldly punishment and to the political entanglement in history.