are two just Muslim eyewitnesses of the apostasy or if the apostate self confesses; according to some schools, both conditions are required. Jurists allowed flexibility in the application of the death penalty, allowing judges to interpret the apostasy law in different ways, sometimes, they leniently interpreted it and at other times, they strictly interpreted it. In the late 19th century, the use of legal criminal penalties for apostasy fell into disuse, although civil penalties were still applied. In the contemporary Muslim world, public support for capital punishment varies from 78% in Afghanistan to less than 1% in Kazakhstan; among Islamic jurists, the majority of them continue to regard apostasy as a crime which should be punishable by death. Those who disagree argue that its punishment should be less than death, the imposition of it should be left up to God, (human punishment being inconsistent with Quranic injunctions against compulsion in belief), or should be enforced only if apostasy becomes a mechanism of public disobedience and disorder (fitna). Secular critics of Islam argue that the death penalty or other punishment for apostasy in Islam is an issue of freedom of faith and conscience and a violation of universal human rights. Etymology and terminology Apostasy is called irtidād (which means relapse or regress) or ridda in Islamic literature. An apostate is called murtadd, which means 'one who turns back' from Islam. (Another source—Oxford Islamic Studies Online—defines murtadd as "not just any kāfir (non-believer)", but "a particularly heinous type".) Ridda can also refer to secession in a political context. A person born to a Muslim father who later rejects Islam is called a murtadd fitri, and a person who converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a murtadd milli. Takfir (takfeer) ( ) is the act of one Muslim excommunicating another, declaring them a kafir, an apostate. The act which precipitates takfir is termed mukaffir. Scriptural references Quran The Quran mentions apostasy in many of its verses, expressing God's anger, impending punishment, and refusal to accept repentance towards those who have left the faith. Traditionally, the verses that are thought to "appear to justify coercion and severe punishment" for apostates (according to Dale F. Eickelman), including the traditional capital punishment, are as follows: Other scholars have pointed out that there is no mention in the Quran of the need to force an apostate to return to Islam, nor any specific