or behind a person accused of kufr, the denial of the prayer for the dead and burial in a Muslim cemetery, boycott of whatever books they have written, etc. Supporters and opponents of death penalty Support among contemporary Preachers and scholars "The vast majority of Muslim scholars both past as well as present" consider apostasy "a crime deserving the death penalty", according to Abdul Rashided Omar, writing circa 2007. Some notable contemporary proponents include: Abul A'la Maududi (1903-1979), who "by the time of his death had become the most widely read Muslim author of our time", according to one source. Mohammed al-Ghazali (1917–1996), considered an Islamic "moderate" and "preeminent" faculty member of Egypt's preeminent Islamic institution—Al Azhar University− as well as a valuable ally of the Egyptian government in its struggle against the "growing tide of Islamic fundamentalism", was "widely credited" with contributing to the 20th century Islamic revival in the largest Arabic country, Egypt. (Al-Ghazali was on record as declaring all those who opposed the implementation of sharia law to be apostates who should ideally be punished by the state, but "when the state fails to punish apostates, somebody else has to do it". Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b. 1926), another "moderate" Islamist, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, who as of 2009 was "considered one of the most influential" Islamic scholars living. Zakir Naik, Indian Islamic televangelist and preacher, whose Peace TV channel, reaches a reported 100 million viewers, and whose debates and talks are widely distributed, supports the death penalty only for those apostates who "propagate the non-Islamic faith and speak against Islam" as he considers it treason. Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid, a Syrian Islamic scholar, considered a respected scholar in the Salafi movement (according to Al Jazeera); and founder of the fatwa website IslamQA, one of the most popular Islamic websites, and (as of November 2015 and according to Alexa.com) the world's most popular website on the topic of Islam generally (apart from the website of an Islamic bank). Opposing the death penalty for apostasy Intisar Rabb, faculty director of the Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School. Shafi`i jurists Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa of Egypt. Fiqh scholar Taha Jabir Alalwani (1935-2016). Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri (1922-2009). Grand Ayatollah Hussein Esmaeel al-Sadr. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar. Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary