Source: The Washington Post

While many celebrated the winter holidays, news broke of the arrest in Saudi Arabia of liberal writer Turki Al Hamad for allegedly insulting Islam on Twitter.  We also heard of another Saudi activist, Raif Badawi, who was arrested in June and will now continue with his trial, accused of apostasy for ridiculing Saudi Arabia’s religious police and making other comments that officials found insulting.  These incidents have re-ignited the age old debate about the use of freedom of speech, especially with regards to Islam.

The difference between Islam’s view on free speech and the view promoted by free speech advocates these days is the intention and ultimate goal each seeks to promote.  Whereas many secularists champion individual privileges, Islam promotes the principle of uniting mankind and cultivating love and understanding among people.  Both endorse freedom for people to express themselves, but Islam promotes unity, whereas modern-day free speech advocates promote individualism.

Let me explain.

The ultimate goal of Islam is to unite mankind under a single banner of peace.  The Koran– Islam’s holy scripture – says God created everyone in unity, but our own man-made differences has compromised our unity (2:214).  In order to unite mankind, Islam instructs to only use speech to be truthful, do good to others, and be fair and respectful.  It attempts to pre-empt frictions by prescribing rules of conduct which guarantee for all people not only freedom of speech but also fairness, absolute justice, and the right of disagreement.

The Koran instructs people to speak the truth (33:71), to speak in a manner that is best (17:54), to speak to others kindly (2:84) and to refrain from inappropriate speech (4:149). With Islam’s guidance to purify our intentions, it promotes free speech when our intention is to serve a good purpose, promote peace, bring people closer to God and unite mankind.  If, however, our intentions are to insult others or promote disorder or division, we should refrain. Read further.