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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_sw

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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