Freedom of belief and apostasy in Islamic theology

In this study, the problem of apostasy in the context of freedom of belief in terms of kalam is discussed and evaluated. Freedom of belief is the person's belief in the holy one they want, adopting or not adopting the religion they want. This freedom entails believing freely, not being forced to express one's belief, and not being condemned for one's belief. As a matter of fact, faith; It is a phenomenon that requires faith from the heart, is preferred with free will without pressure and coercion, and includes surrender. The ability of a person to believe in the holy one he wants is one of the most fundamental rights granted to him by the creator. In this context, the Creator sent the religion that is true and should be believed, compatible with the nature, to people through his prophets and left them free at the point of choice. He then informed them that these choices made by people would be a matter of consideration in the hereafter. Apostasy, on the other hand, is defined as a crime that is dealt with in the ukubat section of classical fiqh books, and is revealed when a person who has chosen to be a Muslim as a belief later expresses his disbelief openly for certain reasons, or says a word or act that warrants unbelief. A person who turns from religion in this way is called an apostate. In terms of the general scope and subject of the thesis, the legitimacy of the criminal proceedings regarding the fate of a person who apostatizes in the context of freedom of belief will be examined by focusing on the principle of "there is no compulsion in religion". In addition, the fact whether the choices made in terms of freedom require condemnation or punishment is a fundamental problem that awaits to be explained. In addition, it will be examined and evaluated whether the freedom given to the person at the point of entry into religion is also recognized at the point of leaving the religion. In the historical process, one of the most basic problems that arise in the examination of this problem is the ignoring of the subject. This subject has been examined mostly in terms of the scope of fiqh, and the metaphysical aspects and theological dimension of the problem have been left incomplete. We believe that examining the problem from this perspective and gaining a theological identity will contribute to a better understanding of the issue and allow the related question marks to disappear. Keywords: Apostasy, Apostate, Apostasy, Freedom, Liberty, Volition, Belief.