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Freedoms of Speech and Religion in the Islamic Context a bd ul la hi ah me d a n- na i m O ne premise of this essay is that freedoms of speech and religion are necessary means for each human person to pursue what she holds as the ultimate purpose and meaning of her life. In other words, people tend to link the value of rights such as freedoms of speech and religion to the purpose for which they are asserting those rights rather than to affirm them for their independent abstract value. This does not mean that entitlement to the right should be made conditional upon satisfying some commonly preconceived purpose of free speech or authoritatively sanctioned meaning of the religion that is to be experienced by believers in any religion. But it does mean that freedoms of speech and religion are unlikely to have much meaning and relevance to the people who are supposed to exercise those rights if they are perceived to be inconsistent with the purpose for which one seeks to have the rights in the first place. We should therefore appreciate the dialectics of ends and means in defining , justifying, and practicing freedoms of speech and religion in relation to other rights and broader concerns of persons and their communities. Another premise of this essay regarding freedom of religion in particular is that the purpose and meaning of religion that one may seek to achieve and experience must be a matter of personal, free, and voluntary choice. Since there is no logical possibility of religious belief without the equal possibility of disbelief , denying the right to disbelieve is denying the right to believe. In terms of the dialectics of ends and means emphasized earlier, the purpose and meaning of freedom of religion includes freedom from religion. Conversely, upholding freedom from religion should not be at the expense of freedom of religion. This mandate applies to dissent within religious traditions as well as between them, to protect heresy, apostasy, and freedom to propagate one’s religion, all subject to appropriate safeguards. Granted that there will always be the need to mediate 57 58 Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim and negotiate competing claims, the question is how to protect and facilitate that process. In light of these initial remarks, I will argue in this essay for the secular state, defined as one that is neutral regarding all religions without being hostile or indifferent to any religion, as the necessary location for mediating competing claims about freedom of speech and religion. Such mediation can be achieved through what I call ‘‘civic reason,’’ which requires engaging in reasoning processes in which one gives reasons for her or his positions that all citizens can debate, accept, or reject without reference to religious beliefs as such. I also propose that constitutionalism, human rights, and citizenship are the most conducive framework for that process of civic reason. Islam and Freedom Islam is the monotheistic religion that the Prophet Muh .ammad propagated between 610 and 632 CE, when he delivered the Qurān and expounded its meaning and application through what came to be known as the Sunna (H . adı̄th) of the Prophet. However, the term Sharı̄a is often used in present Islamic discourse as if it were synonymous with Islam itself, as the totality of Muslim obligations in the private, personal, religious sense, including social, political, and legal norms and institutions. This is the concept or idea of Sharı̄a, what it is supposed to represent and mean, which should not be confused with any particular conception of the content of this concept through a specific human methodology of interpretation of the Qurān and Sunna. It should also be emphasized that Sharı̄a principles are always derived from human interpretation of the Qurān and Sunna; they are what human beings can comprehend and seek to obey within their own specific historical context. Striving to know and observe Sharı̄a is always the product of the human agency of believers, a system of meaning that is constructed out of human experience and reflection, which over time evolves into a more systematic development according to an established methodology. Human reason, judgment, and experience are therefore integral to any approach to the Qurān and Sunna at multiple levels, ranging from centuries of accumulated experience and interpretation to the current context in which an Islamic frame of reference is invoked. The structure and methodology known as...

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