Full Description
In Muslim countries, apostasy and blasphemy laws are defended on the grounds that they are based on Islamic Shari'a and intended to protect religion. But blasphemy and apostasy laws can be used both to suppress thought and debate and to harass religious minorities, both inside and outside Islam. This book - comprising contributions from Muslim scholars, experts and activists - critically and constructively engages with the theological, historical and legal reasoning behind the most restrictive state laws around the world to open up new ways of thinking.
The book focuses on the struggle within Muslim societies in Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia where blasphemy and apostasy laws serve powerful groups to silence dissent and stifle critical thought. The first part of the book covers the development of the law in shifting historical circumstances and surveys the interpretations of Qur'anic verses that seem to affirm freedom of religion. The second part examines the present politics and practices of prosecuting alleged blasphemers and/or apostates in Muslim countries. The third part looks to the future and where reforms of the law could be possible.
Debates on Islam and freedom of expression are often cast in polarizing terms of rights versus religion, East versus West. This volume avoids such approaches by bringing together a diverse group of Muslim scholars and activists with the knowledge, commitment and courage to contest repressive interpretations of religion and provide a resource for reclaiming the human rights to freedom of expression and belief.
Contents
Introduction, Muhammad Khalid Masud, International Islamic University, Pakistan; Kari Vogt, University of Oslo, Norway; Lena Larsen, University of Oslo, Norway; & Christian Moe, Independent Scholar
PART ONE: THE HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION
Blasphemy Laws in Islam: Towards a Rethinking?, Abdullah Saeed, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Freedom of Religion in Qur'anic Exegesis, Omaima Abou-Bakr, Cairo University, Egypt
al-Qadi 'Iyad's Defence of the Prophet and of Scholarly Tradition: al-Shifa', Nora S. Eggen, University of Oslo, Norway
Hermeneutic shifts in the definition of blasphemy: Reading Ibn Taymiyya's al-Sarim al-Maslul 'aala, Shatim al-Rasul, Muhammad Khalid Masud, International Islamic University, Pakistan
PART TWO: PRESENT PRACTICES
The Crimes of Blasphemy and Apostasy in Iran, Mohammad Mostafaei, Iranian human rights lawyer
Guarding the Mainstream: Blasphemy and Apostasy in Egypt, Moataz El Fegiery, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
Plurality, Dissent and Hegemony: The Story Behind Pakistan's Blasphemy Law, Arafat Mazhar, Engage Pakistan, Pakistan; and Syed Zainuddin Moulvi, University of Virginia, USA
Politics of Fatwa, 'Deviant Groups' and Takfir in the Context of Indonesian pluralism: A Study of the Council of Indonesian Ulama, Syafiq Hasyim, State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia
PART THREE: NEW DIRECTIONS
Transgressing All Bounds? Gendering Authority and Engendering Orthodoxy, Kecia Ali, Boston University, USA
Re-framing Reform: Lessons from the Apostasy Trials of Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari and Hashem Aghajari, Mahmoud Sadri, Texas Woman's University, USA
Toward Removing the Punishment of Apostasy in Islam, Mohsen Kadivar, Duke University, USA
