Freedom of Speech: An Islamic Perspective

Category: Faith & Spirituality, Featured Values: Freedom Channel: Opinion Views: 19022




The reality is that there can never be complete freedom of speech. Laws will always be required that would limit freedom of speech in order to preserve society at large. A clear example of this is the preservation of national security. The Official Secrets Act exists in the United Kingdom for the protection of official information, mainly related to national security. People working with secret information are commonly required to sign a statement to the effect that they agree to abide by the restrictions of the Official Secrets Act. In the US, the clash between the conflicting aims of national security and freedom of expression came to a head in 1971 in the 'Pentagon Papers' case. 'The New York Times' had ignored the government's demand to halt publication of a document dealing with the US military involvement in Vietnam. As a result, it was enjoined from continuing to publish portions of the document. Although the Court's decision went in the favor of freedom of speech and the press, it did implicitly acknowledge a national security exception to the First Amendment's ban on prior restraint. In subsequent years, the Court has upheld the government's national security claims in several cases that involved former CIA agents who had written memoirs.

Even the philosophers of liberalism had to admit that there exist inherent discrepancies within the concept of freedom and its application at state level. One strand of liberal thought argues that freedom of speech should not be limited because once this happens, the society would inevitably move towards tyranny and censorship. The other line of argument states with equal force that a government's involvement with the action of individuals should never be removed because this would eventually lead to anarchy and a life that Hobbes described in Leviathan as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". Moreover, some feel that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent 'harm' to others. But there has always been a problem in defining 'harm'. Does prostitution, for instance, fall under this domain? Most liberals would also include 'offense' as a major factor that should legitimize the exercise of power over the actions of the individuals living in a society. Again the issue arises as to which actions are to be considered 'offensive'. Should pornography, for example, come under this category? Some have argued that pornography is not only offensive but is also harmful. Such contradictions lead to a never ending debate as to what does/ does not constitute 'harm' or 'offense'. Thus what we find is that the slogan of freedom of speech is one of the most used slogans in the world, and yet no one is quite sure what it entails or where the boundaries (should) lie.

But for the Muslims, the issue should be quite clear: Islam does not allow the adoption and propagation of 'Freedom of Speech' as propagated by the west since this would include the promotion of such ideas that clearly contradict Islam, such as usury, obscenity under the guise of entertainment and separation of Islam from life's affairs.



The question that needs to be asked is, 'What was it in the Muslim world that had fostered such tolerance, authenticity, creativity, and human flourishing?' It certainly was not the current notion of freedom that is prevailing in today's world but rather it was the result of the implementation of Islam on society. Unlike man-made systems, Islam is in total harmony with the reality of human nature since it is revealed by the One (swt) who created human beings. Therefore, the aims of Islam conform to the reality of human society. Islam has designated certain aims for society which include protection of mind, belief, private property, security and state. Only when such aims exist in a society can human beings progress in every sphere of life. To safeguard these aims, an Islamic society will restrict freedom of expression as espoused by the west since it acknowledges the fact that society is not just made up of individuals and what an individual does will have an impact on society at large. Islam makes no apology for doing this. In actual fact, liberal societies, despite their claims of being free and tolerant, are also forced to take certain steps to safeguard society. Hence they have laws restricting the 'amount of freedom' that can exist in society. In addition to this, their laws continually twist and change to suit their interests and are often interpreted in a manner that clearly reflects their prejudice and enmity towards Islam as shown in this recent example. The concept of freedom of speech is therefore laden with ambiguity.




Umm Ibtihal teaches applied linguistics / TEFL and have worked in various institutions in the UK and Pakistan. Currently she works at a university in the Middle East where among other courses, she teaches comparative cultural studies. She can be reached at

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  2 Comments   Comment

  1. Sean Groves

    Muslims seem to like freedom of speech when they insult other religions, they like freedom of speech when they can protest in the streets with signs saying "we will behead non believers" they use freedom of speech to justify these crazy acts. Islam is the only modern day religious group who justify all sorts of disgusting actions and terrorist attacks based on their religious beliefs - christians wernt so innocent.. 300-400 years ago or more but this is the 21st century.