Many Islamic and Muslim-majority nations impose brutal punishments for apostasy and blasphemy. Reports of Muslims and non-Muslims being sentenced to years in prison and even death are increasingly becoming common in the media. Do these laws affect only Muslim societies? Should it be an international concern? Asking these questions, and others surrounding these codes, The Diplomat interviewed Dr. Paul Marshall, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom of the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
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Black smoke rises from the area of Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the southeastern outskirts of Moscow on June 18, 2026. (Getty Images)