December 14, 2006

Censorship in the Islamic World

A Tunisian Muslim stands up against censorship in the Islamic world. MEMRI:

"In the West, the advent of printing meant enormous progress in terms of freedom of thought. Printing made possible the gradual spread of knowledge and the questioning of the established order. Technology and freedom seem to have marched hand in hand.

"But in our [Muslim] societies, the opposite seems to have happened. The advent of printing [in the Muslim world] in the mid-19th century and the spread of written materials in the 20th century have [only served to] undermine freedom of thought.

"The numerous examples of 'censorship in the name of Islam' from 1925 to date makes one wonder. From philosophy to cinema, literature, and art - no field has been spared, and no [act of] violence has been avoided. From the [mere] banning of the work to a death sentence for [the writer] - every kind of obscurantist horror has taken place in the lands of Islam. Given that we are one of the Civilizations of the Book, [2] this is a complete paradox.

He goes on to say that such censorship did not happen in the early years of Islam. Perhaps we are going to see a Muslim Restoration movement rather than a Muslim Reformation? The latter is slightly more problematic, since Mohammed himself is said to have proclaimed, "If someone changes his deen [Islamic character] - strike his neck!" [Malik's Muwatta Book 36, Number 36.18.15]. And, how can you have freedom of speech when it is a capital offense to question Islam? An ahistorical and literal interpretation of the Quran, though, is problematic in another way: much of the apologetics against the more violent verses are historical & contextual.

So, on the one hand, you have historical Islam which is clearly both violent and oppressive vs. an ahistorical Islam, based solely on the Quran, which is also clearly both violent and oppressive.

There is a third way, though: an Islam of historical revisionism. This is where you construct an alternative history of Islam, one that pretends that Islam was not spread by the sword, that Mohammed wasn't a child molester, that sharia was never integral, and one in which Islam has always been tolerant and liberal.

The noble lie for Muslims. This is the Islam that many Muslims actually believe. Which is fine by me. I'd rather Muslims believe the noble lie than the very ignoble truth.

Anyway, you might want to check out Robert Spencer's latest vblog as well as part II of Michelle's interview with him.

Via Jules Crittenden.


By Dr. Rusty Shackleford at December 14, 2006 10:02 AM | | l digg this