Imam of Kaaba. The Muslim Times has the best collection of articles about free speech and its limitations and blasphemy laws
Source: GEO
ISLAMABAD: Imam-e-Kaaba Shaikh Saleh bin Muhammad Ibrahim has said that an individual has no authority to call for a person’s death and declare him ‘wajib-ul-qatl’ and only a Muslim state has the power to do so.
Non-state actors cannot declare anyone infidel or apostate, said Imam-e-Kaaba speaking in Geo News show Jirga, after his arrival in Pakistan last week.
On Wednesday, while addressing a Cabinet session, he said that the nation must stand united to rise above personal motives and take decisions in favour of the national interests.
“The three conditions of progress are fear of God, sincerity, and deliverance,” he added.
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Categories: Blasphemy, Free speach, Free Speech, Freedom, The Muslim Times
It seems most Muslims burden themselves with the 1400 years of the Muslim or the Islamic history both good and bad and then cannot think straight.
The term ‘wajib-ul-qatl’ does not occur in the Quran. It was perhaps a tool of the state and also of religious mafias in the medieval times and perhaps was employed against apostates and non-Muslims and there is no relevance of it in our age of information, when we can learn from the examples of good governance of all the present and all the historic countries and especially the West. Alas, if the Muslims could give up their obsession with the “Shariah Law,” and their religious leaders and begin to learn from all sources as the prophet said that a word of wisdom is lost property of a believer, he or she acquires it where ever he or she finds it.
The need for free speech and its limitations have been fully outlined in Article 10 of European Convention on Human Rights.
Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are “in accordance with law” and “necessary in a democratic society”. This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:
interests of national security
territorial integrity or public safety
prevention of disorder or crime
protection of health or morals
protection of the reputation or the rights of others
preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence
maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary
Imam of Kaaba is just a few decades late saying what has been nicely covered by the European Convention and much more that the many Muslims will take decades more to learn. Only if we could drop our obsessions and prejudices and broaden our horizons.
But from where he gets guidance to make Fatwa of Wajibul Qatal by state? His such utterance needs to be brought to the Western world which covered him nicely.
It is very clear that even state does not has the right to involve The indivual faith or religion. State and Mosque has to be seperated like America. Every one has the freedom to interprete religious thing, or faith.
God say:
Surely, those who have made divisions in their religion and turned into factions, you have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with Allah alone; then He will tell them what they have been doing.Q.6 (159) .
Ahmadiyyah has the right to interprete verse of Holy Quran as well others
So as long as the State still involve to other belief there is NO PEACE. Saudi Arabia had to obey HUMAN RIGHT rightly.
Many states have capital punishment which may be reasonable for murder or treason.
I love secularism, where freedom of religion or no religion is protectedلاَ إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ. This is the Islam.
He seems to imply that a State has a power to declare any one infidel (non muslim) or apostate. In fact no one has this power except God Himself.
Mohtram, I am sorry if I gave this wrong impression.
You are right State has no right to declare any verdict upon any religion or no religion.This is God’s domain and a state must stay out of it.
I love secularism, where freedom of religion or no religion is protectedلاَ إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ. This is the Islam.