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7/24/2019 Religious Freedom: Arguments from Islam
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Religious Freedom: Arguments from Islamby Areej Hassan
May 5, 2015
The rich discourse on religious freedom within Islam, seen by many as an effective antidote toextremism, should be amplified, particularly since it is silenced in many Muslim-majority
countries, argues Areej Hassan
Many scholars of Islam today are engaged in rich, intellectual discussions about what religious
freedom means to them as believing Muslims !ontrary to media "ortrayals of Muslims, many of
these scholars argue that religious freedom is not only com"atible with Islam, but that it is also#uite central to it $hey hold that belief is necessarily freely chosen, and that human im"ositions
in matters of faith are contrary to the %uranic message
In studying the origins of religious freedom in the &est, legal scholar 'regory &allace notes,($he struggle for religious freedom originated with "ersons who were dee"ly religious and thus
had a significant sta)e in the outcome( $oday, within the Islamic tradition, this is "recisely the
"oint that many Muslim scholars are ma)ing * religious freedom is essential to the verye+istence of Islam &ithout such freedom, Islam, in its early stages would not have survived,
since the acce"tance of any new religious message re#uires s"ace for belief
egarding the current challenges in many Muslim-majority countries, scholars such as.r
Abdullah /aeed,.r sama Hasan,H yai Haji Abdurrahman &ahid, and $aha 3abir
Alalwanie+"lain that though religious toleration is endorsed by the %uran, the 4ro"hetMuhammad, and )ey Muslim figures throughout history, the way the conce"t has been
commonly im"lemented is in direct conflict with Islamic ideals !ontrary to the often
un#uestioned assum"tion that Muslims must view a"ostates as transgressors against 'od who
deserve severe "unishment, there are over 200 verses in the %uran that affirm individualsfreedom not only to reject faith but also to disbelieve after having believed without incurring any
worldly "unishment In his boo),Islam and !elief, /aeed writes, ($he %uran shows a
remar)able degree of toleration toward other religions evealed during a time of diversity inreligious traditions, institutions, and values in Arabia, it recogni6es that different religious
traditions and belief systems 7as well as unbelief8 will always e+ist and that forced belief is no
belief at all(
Muslims are becoming increasingly aware that there is a contradiction between what the %uran
and Hadith teach about tolerance and the laws and cultures of intolerance in many Muslim-
majority societies today However, because of other, seemingly more "ressing, issues that manyMuslims face, such as "olitical corru"tion, "overty, war, and "rejudice, the vast majority does not
view a lac) of religious freedom as an issue of immediate concern
However, religious freedom is actually more directly related to solving these "roblems than
many are aware 9rom su""orting economic vitalityto reducing cultures of religious "rejudice,
religious freedom offers much and deserves to be a concern of high "riority /ignificantly,e#ui""ing Muslims with faith-based arguments in su""ort of religious toleration will em"ower
them to delegitimise faith-based e+tremist narratives +tremists "reach a narrow inter"retation
http://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=fac_swhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/contributors/usama-hasanhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!god-needs-no-defense/c13ghttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!god-needs-no-defense/c13ghttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!apostasy-in-islam/cpc8http://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!apostasy-in-islam/cpc8http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/commentaries/opinion/effective-ways-tackle-radicalisationhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!islam-and-belief/chjyhttp://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/contributors/usama-hasanhttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!god-needs-no-defense/c13ghttp://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!apostasy-in-islam/cpc8http://www.islamandreligiousfreedom.org/#!apostasy-in-islam/cpc8http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/commentaries/opinion/effective-ways-tackle-radicalisationhttp://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=fac_sw7/24/2019 Religious Freedom: Arguments from Islam
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of Islam that is often shrouded in religious rhetoric $o counter this ideology, the strongest
o""osition must come from Muslims arguing from within their faith
$hough a rich dialogue on matters of religious freedom already e+ists in Islam, a large number of
obstacles "revent many who engage in this conversation from receiving the attention and su""ort
they need for their voices to be heard :ne such obstacle is the e+istence of authoritariangovernments that, because of their vested interest in "reventing free thought, endorse and heavily
subsidise media thatrejectreligious freedom /uch governments "rovide financial su""ort for
scholars, "ublications, and school curricula that reject religious toleration, thus increasing thecirculation of these view"oints $his, of course, amounts to nothing less than a form of
censorshi", in which government-a""roved media are awarded a favourable mar)et "osition at
the e+"ense of other media and view"oints
In such situations, government-endorsed media are li)ely to create a large class of uninformed
citi6ens who are taught to acce"t a very limited inter"retation of Islam as the onlyinter"retation
;ecause these citi6ens are often also taught that #uestioning Islam is tantamount to a"ostasy,
many are too afraid to thin) otherwise $hose who try to offer "ers"ectives at odds with what thegovernment "romotes as true religion, ris) being labeled a"ostates or blas"hemers, the
conse#uences of which can be very grave, both legally and socially
.ue to lac) of funding and su""ort in many Muslim-majority countries today for media that
challenge this limited view, Muslim scholars who su""ort religious freedom usually "ublish theirwor)s through academic "ublishers in &estern countries and in &estern languages, which
renders their te+ts inaccessible to most Muslim audiences in non-&estern countries $o hel"
address these obstacles, the