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| Freedom Of Expression Dr. Fathi Osman The main goal of God's message to humankind
is the attainment of justice in all of its fairness. This justice, the
foundation of Islam, cannot be achieved unless human rights are secured
for every individual and group in a Muslim state. The member of such a
state must be free to choose just rulers, to observe these rules as they
practice their authority, and to stand firm against any injustice from
them. Primary among human rights are the rights to believe, to express
one's beliefs and to assemble to defend one's group's beliefs. The rights of expression and information
cannot be separated from rights to think and believe. Intellectual and
linguistic capabilities characterize human beings, and thus, the right to
form and express opinions represents an essential manifestation of human
merits and of God's gifts. The right to express and to be informed should,
therefore, be secured by all who are respectful of humanity or grateful to
God. Indeed, if one is allowed to think and believe, but not to
communicate with others or exchange views, one's freedom of thought and
belief is actually restricted. As the human being is a social creature,
genuine intellectual activity in which a thinker considers more than one
perspective on an idea and learns the strength and weakness of it debated,
cannot be practiced individually or in isolation. Moreover, the basic
condition for freedom of expression and information is that it extends to
different viewpoints; otherwise, expression is merely an imposition of
ideas and exercise in brain-washing. Many national and international documents
which declare human rights acknowledge the fact that freedom of thought
and freedom of expression are intertwined. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights which was issued by the General Assembly of the United
Nations in December 1948 has dealt with both in two successive articles
(18, 19). Freedom of thought and belief is repeatedly
emphasized in the Quran: "There shall be no coercion in matters of faith" (2:256) "And had your Lord so willed, all those who
live on earth would have attained to faith - all of them, do you then
think that you could compel people to believe?" (10:99) "Said (Noah): O my people - what do
you think? If ( it be true that) I am taking my stand on a clear evidence
from my Lord . . . to which you have remained blind, can we force it on
you even though it is hateful to you?" (11:28) "And so (O Prophet) exhort them; your
task is only to exhort; you cannot compel" (88:21-22). As long as freedom of expression and
information is maintained, different views should be expressed and
respected: "Call you (all humanity) unto your
Lord's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the
most kindly (and convincing) manner (16:25). The Quran repeatedly reports the arguments
of atheists and polytheists and replies to them objectively in order to
teach Muslims how freedom of expression and information should be
maintained to make such a dialogue fruitful. According to Islam, freedom
of expression and information is a basic human right. Islam condemns
spreading lies and false information as well as passiveness and reluctance
when the truth should be spoken: "And do not overlay the truth with
falsehood, and do not knowingly suppress the truth" (2:42). A believer who is conscious of God should
always maintain and defend truth and justice: "O you who have attained to faith! Be
ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth, for the
sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and
kinsfolk.... " (4:135) "... Be ever steadfast in your
devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity, and never let
hatred lead you into the sins of deviation from justice .... (5:8) Providing false information about an event
which one has witnessed (22:30, 25:4, 72, 58:2), as well as refraining
from providing the facts that one knows (2:146, 283, 3:71, 167) are both
considered grave sins that should be avoided and prevented by every
possible means. The teachings of the divine message should
be revealed to the public and not concealed, even when the message
criticizes or condemns an influential party or authority (2:159). It is
significant that the Arabic word kafir and its origin kafara mean
originally "to conceal, or to hide." (See the word in a lengthy
Arabic dictionary such as Lisan al-Arab; and see the Quranic verses 6:35,
37:14; and 31:32.) The vice of hypocrisy (nifaq) is not less
condemned in the Quran than kufr: "They (the hypocrites) are the real
enemies . . . , how perverted are their minds." (63:4) "Behold, together with those who deny
the truth, God will gather in hell the hypocrites . . ." (4:140) "Verily the hypocrites shall be in the
lowest depth of hell . . ." (4:145) Likewise, one who is reluctant to provide
the facts is actually concealing the truth and such a person is described
as "evil at heart" in the Quran (2:283), and as "a muted
devil" in the tradition of the Prophet. Providing the known facts and
cooperating constructively so that truth may prevail are fundamental parts
of the Islamic obligation of enjoining the doing of what is right and
forbidding the doing of what is wrong. (3:110) One who provides false information or is
reluctant to provide the right information becomes a participant in the
prevalence of falsehood and evil. Every believer is a witness and protector
of the truth during his/her whole life: "... so that you may bear witness to
the truth before all humanity ...." (2:143) God Himself is the "Ultimate
Truth" according to the Quran (22: 6, 24:25), and it is incumbent
upon every believer to support the truth in all forms so that it will
always prevail. Muslims are addressed as a community to work together in
their efforts for progress. The right of assembly is thus essential to
secure correctional efforts against any powerful supporter of deviation
from truth and righteousness: "And the believers, both men and
women, are responsible for (or the supporters of) one another; they all
enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is
wrong" (9:71) "And that there should arise among you
a band of people who invite unto all that is good and enjoin the doing of
what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong" (3:104) "But help one another in furthering
virtue and God-consciousness, and not in furthering evil and enmity."
(5:2) "And enjoin upon one another the
keeping to truth . . . and enjoin upon one another patience (and firmness)
in adversity" (103:3) Freedom of expression and information,
constituting both a right and a duty for every believer, should be
established and maintained by all Muslims - men and women, rulers and
ruled. The Quran orders those who have been entrusted with authority: "To deliver all that you have been
entrusted with unto those who are entitled thereto, and whenever you rule
between people to rule with justice" (4:58-59). The rulers are responsible for securing the
doing of what is good and preventing the doing of what is evil. (22:41)
Their responsibility is not limited only to allowing the people to express
themselves as individuals or groups, but they must develop a sound public
opinion by also providing correct information to the people. The
authorities cannot maintain their credibility among the people, if they
expose only what supports their position while concealing what may arouse
criticism of their rule. If individuals can be blamed for not revealing
the truth, then rulers must receive greater blame for such an evil: they
have been entrusted with authority by the people for the public benefit;
moreover, they have the sources of information and the authority and
capability to obtain information. How can Muslim rulers discharge their
responsibility of forbidding what is wrong unless they themselves provide
a model by courageously airing their faults? "Do you bid other people to be pious,
while you forget your own selves, and yet you recited the divine writ;
will you not then use your reason?" (2:44) Rulers may not, by concealing or
manipulating information whose sources they may monopolize, use their
authority to conceal facts that may hurt them personally or hurt their
authority. Their responsibility is to maintain freedom of information,
allow its flow and tolerate any individual effort to obtain essential
information from governmental sources within reasonable limits of state
security, which themselves ought to be delineated by the people. Rulers
have the obligation to display all facts and release required evidence
about an issue, either at their own initiative or in response to a request
even if their interests suffer: “ . . . if they but refer - any matter
pertaining to peace or war - unto the Conveyer of the (divine) Message and
unto those from among them who have been entrusted with authority , such
of those who are engaged in investigating the matter would indeed know it
(directly and properly)." (4:83) According to Islamic teachings, the Muslim
people may not be passive subjects, and the Muslim rulers do not enjoy
absolute powers. To use political terminology, Islam establishes an
institutional and constitutional authority, not a personalized one. This set of restrictions on Muslim rulers
is similar to which Rousseau has elaborated on: In any society past the
primitive level, the ruler's authority and the citizen's rights and
liberties may not conflict with each other. The citizens' rights are
opposed by the ruler's authority only in a society which is deprived as a
whole of participation in the practice of political power; in such a
society only the rulers enjoy absolute authority. The Islamic state is an institutional and
constitutional one because the divine law, sharia, defines the rights and
obligations of the ruled and the rulers. The Islamic rulership by the
contract of the Caliphate or the imamate is a legal and historical fact.
The Quran stresses that absolute sovereignty and authority belong only to
God, and that anyone who is entrusted with authority from among the
believers by them should be obeyed as long as such a person maintains
divine justice and public consent. The Muslim people are not always
expected to be obedient, as cases of variance and even clashes of views
between rulers and ruled are possible. According to the Quran and sunnah,
such differences should not be settled by suppression, but through a
constitutional political and judicial process. (3:159) The rulers should not use their authority
to conceal facts from public control or from judicial inquiry. Such a
principle is reminiscent of the classical legal principle of habeas
corpus, regarded as "the great writ of liberty" when it was
formalized in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 in England. Under this law, any authority who detains
any person for any reason is forced to bring the detained person to a
judge, to explain what has led to the detention, and to report procedures
followed in affecting the detention. The judge, in addition to deciding
what allegations are to be brought against the person being detained, must
also ascertain that any harm which has befallen him/her - including death
- has not been caused by the delivery authority. No abuse of power on the side of the
authorities should be tolerated, and all relevant evidence should be
introduced. The responsibility of the authorities to provide relevant
documents in general with certain specified and conditional exceptions has
also been stated recently by certain legislations in the United States,
Canada and a few other countries (see for example James Michael, The
Politics of Secrecy). Such a guarantee of freedom of information
is required in principle by Islam and should be formulated in detail and
sanctioned. Facts must be displayed by anyone who holds them, and Islamic
authorities have greater responsibility than ordinary individuals in this
respect, "to bear witness to the truth for the sake of God, even
though it be against their own selves." At the same time, Islam cannot ignore a
reality accepted by contemporary legislation, namely, that in some cases
freedom of expression and information may be restricted temporarily or
partially to maintain other human rights or public interests. Privacy and
justifiable security requirements, especially in time of war, have to be
considered. According to Islamic legal principles, a line should be drawn,
in practicing the right of expressing one's views, between criticizing an
ordinary man and criticizing one who occupies a public office, especially
a high office. Freedom of expression has a broader range, in the latter
case than in the former, especially with regard to public activities and
to behavior in personal life that may affect the practice of public
authority. The ethical values and legal principles of Islam which secure
privacy and forbid spying or any violation of personal rights should be
observed. A groundless allegation cannot be tolerated: “ . . . if any iniquitous person comes to
you with a tale, use your discernment lest you hurt people unwittingly,
and afterward be filled with remorse for what you have done." (100:6) In sharî’ah, calumniation, libel and
slander or any other offense of that kind are forbidden and punishable.
However, the right of self-defense may justify some permissiveness in this
respect: "God does not like any evil to be
mentioned openly, unless it be by him/her who has been wronged . . ."
(4:149) "yet indeed as for any who defend
themselves after having been wronged - no blame whatever attaches to them;
blame attaches but to those who oppress (other) people and behave
outrageously on earth, offending against all right . . . but withal, if
one is patient in adversity and forgives - this is indeed something to set
one's heart upon." (42:41-43) In any expression of thoughts or feelings
by words, drawings, music, performance or otherwise, one should observe
the values of Islam and present them. A speech, writing, work of art or
any other human expression cannot by any means persuade a deviation from
Islamic values or a perpetration of what is prohibited. Any discussion
which may arise about the beliefs and the laws of Islam should observe
objectivity and avoid illegitimate offense, agitation and provocation.
Arguing with non- believers, as the Quran cautions against, would
necessarily draw them to defend their beliefs which are rejected by Islam
or to give their opinions about what they are invited to follow. Maintaining the human rights of expression
and wisdom in presentation and argument are essential for such a dialogue
which must be conducted on both sides within methodological and ethical
guidelines in order to make it fruitful. Those who are born Muslims should
not be deprived of the right to a similar discussion of their faith within
the same lines. Rights of expression and information should
be protected by all authorities: legislative, executive and judiciary,
internal and universal. A specific Islamic court for human rights should
be established in every Muslim country and on a global level; the special
court of the glorious historical precedent which was concerned
specifically with cases of injustice committed by any of those who
occupied public positions or were politically or socially influential
should be revived. Disputes with the rulers should be settled according to
the superior legal sources: the Quran and sunnah (4:59). Any violation of
human rights from rulers or from any group of the ruled (baghy) should be
stopped (49:9). Islamic judicial protection of human rights must be more
comprehensive and effective than what may be known in the contemporary
world. It must show concern for any moral harm that is caused by the
authorities to individuals, groups or the whole society, as well as for
material transgression: "... and who can be a better lawgiver than God?" (5:50) END Please send your comments to comments@islamforum.org |