Is apostasy illegal in Saudi Arabia?
Death penalty possible
Saudi Arabia enforces the death penalty for apostasy under Islamic law, with active prosecution and cases such as Hamza Kashgari and Ahmad Al Shamri.
Saudi Arabia is one of 11 countries classified “Death penalty possible” for apostasy — 37% of the 30 with data. (Also searched as leaving a religion.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Apostasy in Islam by country
- Last checked
- 7 July 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 Kuwait's family law allows Muslim courts to prosecute apostasy with penalties including annulment of marriage and property confiscation.
- Qatar
- Death penalty possible Apostasy in Qatar is punishable by death under Sharia law, with specific criminalization of proselytizing Muslims to other religions.
- Yemen
- Death penalty possible Apostasy in Yemen can carry the death penalty under Islamic law.
- Iraq
- Criminal offense In Iraq, while the constitution guarantees freedom of thought, a 15-year-old was imprisoned and tortured for declaring himself an atheist, indicating that apostasy can carry serious legal consequences.
- Jordan
- Criminal offense Jordan allows apostasy charges in Islamic courts with serious civil consequences like imprisonment and loss of marriage rights.
- United Arab Emirates
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is punishable by death in the UAE under Sharia law, with hudud crimes including apostasy requiring the death penalty according to their Penal Code.
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.