Full Description
Is it lawful to shed the blood of someone who insults the Prophet Muhammad? Does the Qu'ran stipulate a worldly punishment for apostates? This book tells the gripping story of Rāfiq Taqī, an Azerbaijani journalist and writer, who was condemned to death by an Iranian cleric for a blasphemous news article in 2006.
Delving into the Qu'ran and Hadith - the most sacred sources for all Muslims - Mohsen Kadivar explores the subject of blasphemy and apostasy from the perspective of Shi'a jurisprudence to articulate a polarisation between secularism and extremist religious orthodoxy. In a series of online exchanges, he debates the case with Muhammad Jawad Fazel, the son of Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarānī who issued the fatwa pronouncing death penalty on Taqī. While disapproving of the journalist's writings, Kadivar takes a defensive stance against vigilante murders and asks whether death for apostasy reflects the true spirit of Islam.
Contents
Introduction
Literature Review of Religious Freedom and Apostasy in Contemporary Sunni Islam
Literature Review of Religious Freedom and Apostasy in Contemporary Shi'i Islam
The Genealogy of the Book's Ideas and Its Merits
Part I: Apostasy and Blasphemy
The Background of the Treatise
Legal Ruling on Assassination by Lankarānī Sr. and Statement of Delight by Lankarānī Jr. at its Implementation
Objections to the Fatwa of Assassination - by Kadivar
Response to Doubts Surrounding Apostasy - by Lankarānī Jr.
Treatise on Refuting the Punishment for Apostasy and Blasphemy - by Kadivar
Issuing a ruling on the death penalty by a process that falls outside the sphere of a competent court will engender lawlessness and anarchy
Claiming the validity of the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy is based on one deficient 'isolated report' (khabar al-wāḥid).
Refuting the claim that most of the hadiths on apostasy are 'mutawātir'
Refuting the claim of consensus (ijmā') and the necessity to implement the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy
No one, during the time of the Prophet, Imam Ali, and the other Imams, was sentenced to death solely for apostasy
The Absolute Cessation of the Ḥudūd Punishments or those that Necessitate Death Penalty and Injury, and Suspension During the Time of the Imam's Occultation
'Isolated reports' (khabar al-wāḥid) are non-probative in matters of critical importance
Issuing fatwas on killing an apostate or a blasphemer weakens and tarnishes Islam
Alteration of the subject of apostasy and objecting to the perpetual applicability of the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy
The incompatibility of executing an apostate or a blasphemer with explicit Qur'anic verses
Appendix 1. A Further Clarification to Lankarānī Jr.'s Position
Appendix 2. Rāfiq Taqī in His Own Words and in the Words of His Defenders
Part II: Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech - by Kadivar
Islam: Between Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech
Letter of Censure to the Jurists Who Issued the Latest Judgement on Apostasy
Insulting the Prophet is a Form of Hate Speech
Request for Clarification from the Jurists Who Defend 'Suffocating the Religionists'
Appendix 3: Imam[Ali]: Political Leader or Exemplary Role Model - by A. Gharavī
Glossary; Bibliography; IndexAbout the Contributors
