Kefahaman belia Muslim terhadap konsep kebebasan beragama dengan isu keluar agama dalam Islam: kajian di Institut Pengajian Tinggi Selangor

The issue of apostasy in Islam is part of the right of religious freedom. The article aims to identify the Muslim youth understanding on the definition (concept) of religious freedom, their understanding on the issue of apostasy and the relationship between those two. The study uses descriptive quantitative approach in order to get responses from various background of respondents. A total of 404 questionnaires were distributed to the students from selected institutes of higher learning in Selangor by using a purposive sampling method. The findings show that the Muslim youth understanding on the concept of religious freedom is high with a mean score of 4.33. Their understanding on the issue of apostasy is also high with a mean score of 3.86. Furthermore, Spearman result analysis show the significant and positive correlation between respondents understanding on the concept of religious freedom and their understanding on the issue of apostasy in Islam at p < .05. It can be concluded that the understanding on religious freedom has much bearing on the understanding of apostasy. This finding demonstrates it is important to expose Muslim youth on the concept of religious freedom according to Islamic perspective. ABSTRAK Isu keluar agama atau murtad dalam Islam mempunyai hubungan dengan hak kebebasan beragama. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti kefahaman belia Muslim terhadap definisi dan konsep kebebasan beragama, mengenal pasti kefahaman mereka tentang isu keluar agama serta hubungan antara kedua-duanya. Kajian menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif deskriptif bagi mendapatkan respons daripada pelbagai latar belakang. Sebanyak 404 soal selidik diedarkan kepada mahasiswa di Institut Pengajian Tinggi terpilih sekitar Selangor. Sampel dipilih menggunakan kaedah persampelan bertujuan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan kefahaman belia Muslim tentang konsep kebebasan beragama adalah tinggi dengan skor min bernilai 4.33, kefahaman mereka tentang isu keluar agama juga tinggi dengan skor min bernilai 3.86. Seterusnya, hasil analisis Spearman menunjukkan terdapat perkaitan yang positif dan signifikan (p < .05) antara kefahaman responden terhadap konsep kebebasan beragama dengan isu keluar agama dalam Islam. Dapatan ini menunjukkan kepentingan penekanan serta pendedahan kepada belia Islam berkenaan kebebasan beragama menurut Islam.