Freedom of Speech in Islam
in Surah Baqarah Allah says ‘Produce your proof, if you are truthful.” Freedom of speech is an important topic in today's society and is supported by the Quran. Nowadays many people misuse freedom of speech to create enmity and anger between people in society by provoking, mocking, and insulting, this is not what true freedom of speech is. In Europe, we see that many writers have attacked the religion of Islam and insulted the sentiments of all Muslims around the globe, this is wrong, however we must reply to such people through dialogue, or at the least, ignore such people as this is the wisest thing we can do, violence in this scenario is certainly not tolerated. Now in Pakistan they take away our right of freedom of speech altogether, and they arrest us for even calling ourselves Muslim, and to propogate our faith, this sheer intolerance is unacceptable and will only do harm to their own country, and goes contrary to the teachings of Holy Quran. In Europe people have started to distort true freedom of speech, we see the Danish journalists publishing these cartoons insulting Muslims and the Holy prophet was really wrong and should not be supported at all this is not freedom of speech. People should have respect and communicate nicely to promote peace and harmony.
In Islam ,we always want the truth to be spoken no matter what. We are commanded to always speak the truth, as well as the sunnah of the prophet. Now the verse I have quoted relates to the Jews and Christians about their religious doctrines and tells them to produce their proof if what they say is the truth, the reality is what they have said contradicts the teachings of the Holy Quran and many of the times could be blasphemous speech against Allah, but the Holy Quran instructs us to have respectful dialogue and to not show any enmity regardless of their belief. This is a common allegation raised against Islam they say that we do not tolerate opposing viewpoints when infact Islam encourages us to discuss with those of other faiths. Another Ayah says about the idolaters that: “Have they taken gods beside Him(Allah)! Say, ‘Bring forth your proof.” respectful dialogue is encouraged to us by the Holy Quran.
Now let us turn to a incident in the time of the Prophet SAW which sheds light on blasphemy, and freedom of expression: Once returning from expedition, a hypocrite used insulting words against the Holy Prophet(sa). These harsh words made Muslims very upset and one person even suggested that the culprit should be killed. The Holy Prophet(sa) did not permit anyone to do so, this proves that there is no such punishment for blasphemy in Islam The Holy Prophet(sa) even forgave the people who threw stones at him, harassed him and tortured the early Muslims, further proves our stance that it is not punishable in Islam. These incidents clearly show that Allah has granted free speech, and freedom of religion to humanity. In the Holy Quran, Allah says: “Criticize not those whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they, out of spite, criticize Allah in their ignorance…(Surah al Anam verse 109) This verse teaches us to not even insult the religion of others Allah gives us advice on how to deal with blasphemous speech in Surah Nisa “He has already revealed to you in the Book that, when you hear the signs of Allah being denied and mocked at, sit not with them until they engage in a talk other than that” So we are told to respectfully ignore those who insult and abuse rather then to punish anyone
The Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) who was the divinely guided reformer of this age has said that people who “Insult the Prophets of other faiths…sow the seed of enmity and discord among mankind”. He advocated a treaty of mutual respect between peoples, and taught compassion and kindness to humanity regardless of religious differences. We are taught to serve mankind.
Our 4th Khalifa Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad writes: “Freedom of speech and expression is vital to the spread of a Message as well as to restore the dignity of man.”
In conclusion as Ahmadi Muslims we are representing the true teachings of Islam and we must act according to it, and to promote harmony amongst mankind. If someone is being oppressed the Prophet SAW told us to stop them from oppressing others. This can apply to people who attack, and insult others, who may not even be Muslims, Islam teaches us to respect everyone's sentiments and prevent any wrongdoing to anyone..
Nowadays
Many people misuse freedom of speech to create enmity and anger between people in society by provoking, mocking, and insulting, this is not what true freedom of speech is. In Europe, we see that many writers have attacked the religion of Islam and insulted the sentiments of all Muslims around the globe, this is wrong, however we must reply to such people through dialogue, or at the least, ignore such people as this is the wisest thing we can do, violence in this scenario is certainly not tolerated. Now in Pakistan they take away our right of freedom of speech altogether, and they arrest us for even calling ourselves Muslim, and to propagate our faith, this sheer intolerance is unacceptable and will only do harm to their own country, and goes contrary to the teachings of Holy Quran. In Europe people have started to distort true freedom of speech, we see the Danish journalists publishing these cartoons insulting Muslims and the Holy prophet was really wrong and should not be supported at all this is not freedom of speech. People should have respect and communicate nicely to promote peace and harmony.
In Islam, we always want the truth no matter what. We are commanded to always speak the truth. However at the same time Allah does not force people to accept the truth. Holy Quran says: "There is no compulsion in religion.” Al Baqarah verse 257A common allegation raised against islam is How much disagreement does Islam allow in regards to freedom of speech, is blasphemy punished? The following example from the Prophet Muhammad (sa) refutes this objection. Once returning from expedition, a hypocrite used insulting words against the Holy Prophet(sa). These harsh words made Muslims very upset and one person even suggested that the culprit should be killed. The Holy Prophet(sa) did not permit anyone to do so, this proves that there is no such punishment for blasphemy in Islam The Holy Prophet(sa) even forgave the people who threw stones at him, harassed him and tortured the early Muslims, further proves our stance that it is not punishable in Islam. These incidents clearly show that Allah has granted free speech, and freedom of religion to humanity. Here is a hadith and ayat which sheds light on this:
- “A believer does not taunt, or curse or abuse or talk indecently”. (gives us guidelines on how to behave in public)
In the Holy Quran, Allah says:“Criticise not those whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they, out of spite, criticize Allah in their ignorance…(Surah al Anam verse 109) This verse teaches us to not even insult the religion of othersAllah gives us advice on how to deal with blasphemous speech in Surah Nisa“He has already revealed to you in the Book that, when you hear the signs of Allah being denied and mocked at, sit not with them until they engage in a talk other than that” The Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) who was the divinely guided reformer of this age has said that people who “Insult the Prophets of other faiths…sow the seed of enmity and discord among mankind”. He advocated a treaty of mutual respect between peoples, and taught compassion and kindness to humanity regardless of religious differences. In conclusion as Ahmadi Muslims we are representing the true teachings of Islam and we must act according to it, and to promote harmony amongst mankind. If someone is being oppressed the Prophet SAW told us to stop them from oppressing others. This can apply to people who attack, and insult others, who may not even be Muslims, Islam teaches us to respect everyone's sentiments and prevent any wrongdoing to anyone.
