Islam and Freedom of Speech: Difference between revisions

{{Quote|1=[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.caliphate.eu/2009/04/islams-view-towards-freedom-of-speech.html|2=2013-06-21}}  Islam's view towards Freedom of Speech]<BR>Caliphate Online|2=The concept of ‘freedom of speech’ is derived from the Capitalist ideology that is based on the belief that God and religion should be separated from life’s affairs (secularism). Human beings define how to live their lives free of the constraints of religion which is why freedom of individual, ownership, religion and speech are essential cornerstones of Capitalism. The right to speak and what are the limits of speech are therefore all defined by human beings.

==What is Blasphemy?==

{{Quote|1=[http://muslim-canada.org/apostasy.htm  Apostasy & Blasphemy in Islam]<BR>The Canadian Society of Muslims|2='''VII. Kitab al-fiqh Ala' al-Madahib al-Arba'ah'''¹ by 'Abd al-Rahman Jaziri (Urdu translation)<br>''Excerpts and examples to further illustrate what constitutes blasphemy in Islam''<br><br>It is necessary to have evidence of two reliable witnesses corroborating each other before a Khazi (judge) shall be required to question the witnesses. Thereupon the witnesses will have to make statements describing the words uttered or the acts done which constitute apostasy.  

Apostasy can be committed in two ways: (1) by uttering expressly by tongue that he is (or has become) a Mushrik , a polytheist (i.e. one who associates others with the One God and considers them to be worthy of worship) or, by saying something which is bound to connote in its meaning a denial of the existence of God, for instance to say that God has corporeal (physical, material) existence just like any other corporeal object, or (2) by the performance of an act in which one cannot avoid the clear conclusion that it is tantamount to 'kufr' (infidelity, denial of Islam), for example, to throw away with contempt the holy Qur'an or any part of it or even a single word of it; or to throw it in the fire in an insulting, contemptuous manner; or to throw it in such a place as a garbage dump where there are filthy, dirty and repulsive things; or in a spittoon etc. These acts would be blasphemous and constitute apostasy.  

Cursed: '''wherever they are found they shall be seized and murdered''', a (horrible) murdering. }}

Also, Qur'an does specify a punishment for "spreading [[mischief]]"<nowiki>:-</nowiki>

[[Image:Beheading Prophet Muhammad. Muhammads cousin.jpg|right|thumb|210px|“Ali Beheading Nadr ibn al-Harith in the Presence of the Prophet Muhammad”, 7th Century Painting taken from Mustafa al-Darir’s Siyar-i-Nabi]]

*'''[[Qur%27an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Muhammad_and_Mass_Murder#Assassination_of_Abu_.60Afak|Abu `Afak]]''' - Muhammad asked his followers to kill this man for making negative remarks about Muhammad and Islam.

{{Quote|1=[http://www.islamicvoice.com/April2006/QuestionHour-DrZakirNaik/ Question Hour: Ruling for Blasphemy in Islam]<BR>Dr. Zakir Naik, Islamic Voice, April, 2006|2=In Islam, a person who has committed blasphemy can either be killed or crucified, or his opposite hands and feet can be cut off, or he can be exiled from that land. On the other hand, in other religions there is no other option except capital punishment. Islam at least has four options of punishment for an act of blasphemy.}}

{{Quote|Asif Iftikhar, PhD student of Islamic Law at McGill and a visiting faculty member at LUMS and Pakistan College of Law|2=The Islamic state does have the right to punish the person who commits blasphemy against the Prophet.<ref>Usman Ghafoor - [http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2009-weekly/nos-09-08-2009/spr.htm#5 State has the right to punish] - The News, Jang Group Online Edition</ref><br>}}

*2005 - '''Muhammad al-Harbi''' was sentenced by a Saudi court to more than three years in prison and 750 lashes for speaking to his students about his views on a number of current topics, such as Christianity, Judaism and the causes of terrorism.<ref name="teachers">[http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/11/16/saudi-arabia-teachers-silenced-blasphemy-charges Saudia Arabia: Teachers Silenced on Blasphemy Charges] - Human Rights Watch, November 16, 2005</ref>

===Iran===

*2010 - '''Rubina Bibi''', a Christian woman, was arrested after a Muslim woman accused her of blasphemy.  The woman claimed Rubina Bibi made a derogatory remark about the Prophet Muhammad.  As of March 24, she is still imprisoned.<ref>[http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/16720/ Christian Woman Jailed under Pakistan’s ‘Blasphemy’ Laws] - Compass Direct News, March 24, 2010</ref>

*2010 - '''Munir Masih''' and '''Ruqqiya Bibi''', a Christian couple, were convicted for touching the Qur'an without washing their hands and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.<ref>[http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Punjab:-Christian-couple-touches-Qur%E2%80%98an-with-dirty-hands,-gets-25-years-in-prison-17778.html Punjab: Christian couple touches Qur‘an with dirty hands, gets 25 years in prison] - Fareed Khan - AsiaNews.it, March 3, 2010</ref>

*2010 - '''Imran Masih''', a 22-year-old Christian shopkeeper, was beaten by a Muslim mob, arrested, and sentenced to life imprisonment for burning what a rival shopkeeper claimed were pages of the Qur'an.<ref>[http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/14329/ Pakistani Christian Sentenced to Life under ‘Blasphemy’ Law] - Compass Direct News, January 22, 2010</ref>

*2009 - '''Hector Aleem''', a 51-year-old human rights activist, was severely beaten and tortured in January 2009 for objecting to the destruction of a church.  As of early 2010, Aleem is still imprisoned.<ref>[http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/02/pakistan-human-rights-activist-jailed-on-blasphemy-charge-for-objecting-to-the-destruction-of-a-chur.html Pakistan: Human rights activist jailed on blasphemy charge for objecting to the destruction of a church] - "Save My Father Hector Aleem" by Mehwish Aleem - Posted by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, February 8, 2010</ref>

==In History==

==='Umar bin Al-Khattab's Restrictions on Expression and Speech===

{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=9&tid=20986 Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr and Disgrace]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=The scholars of Hadith narrated from `Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ash`ari that he said, "I recorded for `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham: `In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. This is a document to the servant of Allah `Umar, the Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. When you (Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and followers of our religion. We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose of enmity against Muslims. We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors [of our houses of worship] for the wayfarer and passerby. Those Muslims who come as guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days. We will not allow a spy against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit [or betrayal] against Muslims. We will not teach our children the Qur'an, publicize practices of Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing Islam, if they choose to do so. We will respect Muslims, move from the places we sit in if they choose to sit in them. '''We will not imitate their clothing, caps, turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names''', or ride on saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry these weapons. '''We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic''', or sell liquor. We will have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear belts around our waist, '''refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and markets. We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices [with prayer] at our funerals, or light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their markets'''. We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were captured by Muslims. We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching their privacy in their homes.' When I gave this document to `Umar, he added to it, 'We will not beat any Muslim. These are the conditions that we set against ourselves and followers of our religion in return for safety and protection. If we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves, then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion.'"}}

===Classic Islamic Law===

'''Acts of disbelief (including verbal denials) are punished by death:'''

{{Quote|2='''f1.3''' Someone raised among Muslims who denies the obligatoriness of the prayer, zakat, fasting Ramadan, the pilgrimage, or the unlawfulness of wine and adultery, or denies something else upon which there is scholarly consensus (ijma', def: b7) and which is necessarily known as being of the religion (N: ''necessarily known'' meaning things that any Muslim would know about if asked) thereby becomes an unbeliever (kafir) and is executed for his unbelief (O: if he does not admit he is mistaken and acknowledge the obligatoriness or unlawfulness of that which there is scholarly consensus upon.  As for if he denies the obligatoriness of something there is not consensus upon, then he is not adjudged an unbeliever).}}

===The Muhammad Cartoons Controversies===

{{Main|Muhammad Cartoon Controversies}}

===Two Pastors in Australia Battle for the Right to Criticize Islam===

*[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VCAT/2004/2510.html Islamic Council of Victoria v Catch the Fire Ministries Inc (Final) 2004 VCAT 2510 (22 December 2004)]

===The Murder of Theo van Gogh===

:*'''Watch Geert Wilder's speech at his trial on January 20, 1010 [http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/geert-wilderss-speech-at-his-trial-today.html here].'''

:*'''Read a report on the Wilders trial from Evelyn Markus in the Netherlands [http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/wilders-if-expressions-reflect-the-truth-how-could-they-be-criminal.html here].'''

===The Satanic Verses Controversy===

{{Quote|1=Prakash George, senior police inspector of Bandra police station|2=We have registered an FIR (first information report) against Shah Rukh Khan after we received an application from an advocate who alleged that the actor made some statements hurting the sentiments of Muslims.  Complainant Khalid Babu Querishi alleged that in the July issue of the ''Time and Style'' magazine, Shah Rukh used objectionable language against the Prophet which was unacceptable.}}

Shah Rukh responded to the accusations in an SMS message to IANS:<ref>[http://www.haqeeqat.org/2009/06/22/shah-rukh-khan-reacts-comments-on-prophet-mohammad-a-writing-error/ Shah Rukh Khan Reacts: Comments on Prophet Mohammad a Writing Error] – Omer Jamil – Haqeeqat.org, June 22, 2009</ref>

The aforementioned incidents involving Islam and its followers, has lead to wide-spread self-censorship and obfuscation of facts among the media in the west. A good example of this, is the UK media handling of the 2001 "race riots" by "Asians" in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley. In reality, these outbreaks of violence had little to do with race. The government, and the then home secretary David Blunkett, were warned by the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Gurbux Singh, that more violence was to be expected from "Young ''Muslims'' who feel disenfranchised" living among the many "''Muslim''" hotspots in the UK.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/dec/28/communities.freedomofinformation 'Summer of race riots' feared after clashes in 2001] - Alan Travis, home affairs editor - The Guardian, December 28, 2006</ref>  

Well-known political impressionist, Rory Bremner, during an interview with Sir David Frost on the BBC documentary, Frost on Satire, admitted he feared joking about Islam.

Across the seas in the US, Comedy Central, after receiving threatening statements from the Islamic website ''Revolution Muslim'',<ref>{{cite news| last = Bates | first = Theunis  | title =  Pakistan Bans Facebook Over Muhammad Cartoons| work =AOL News  | language =  | publisher = www.aolnews.com  | date =May 19, 2010  | url = http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/pakistan-bans-facebook-over-muhammad-cartoons/19483123 | }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last =Rodriguez  | first =Alex  | title =  Facebook dark in Pakistan amid uproar over Muhammad caricatures|work=Los Angeles Times  | publisher = www.latimes.com | date = May 19, 2010 | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-facebook-20100520,0,4071401.story | }}</ref> self-censored episodes of South Park by removing the word "Muhammad" and a speech about intimidation and fear. Ironically, cartoonist Molly Norris, who created the original piece of artwork which inspired the first ever "[[Everybody Draw Mohammed Day]]" in response to Comedy Central's self-censorship, eventually disassociated herself from it. Regardless of her u-turn, it was reported in July, 2010, that the American-Yemeni Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had put her, along with eight other cartoonists, on an execution hit list. The FBI have said that Norris and the other cartoonists have been warned of the "very serious threat."<ref>James Gordon Meek and Katie Nelson - [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/07/11/2010-07-11_cleric_anwar_alawlaki_puts_everybody_draw_mohammed_cartoonist_molly_norris_on_ex.html Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki puts 'Everybody Draw Mohammed' cartoonist Molly Norris on execution hitlist] - NY DAILY NEWS, July 11, 2010 </ref>

{{Quote|1=[http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2010/jun/24/celebrity-issue/ A Uniquely Weekly ranking of the personalities who define Las Vegas]<BR> The Las Vegas Weekly, June 24, 2010|2='''Are there any groups you won't go after?'''

{{Hub4|Free Speech|Free Speech}}

==References==

[[Category:Islamic Law]]

[[Category:Apostasy]]

[[Category:Politics and Government]]

[[Category:Articles needing updating]]