Banish the Law of Blasphemy; It is Crippling the Muslim World
By
Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
8 May 2021
Recently,
Said Djabelkhir, An Algerian Professor, Was Sentenced To Three Years In Jail
For Committing Blasphemy. His ‘Crime’ Was That He Wrote What He Believed To Be
True
Main
Points:
1. Professor
Said is a well-recognized authority on North African Sufism and through his
writings, he has been warning against the excesses of Salafis in that region.
2. He has
written against a literal reading of the Quran and asked Muslims to distinguish
between history and myth.
3. The politics
of blasphemy does not serve God in any way but is designed to maintain orthodox
medievalist ideas. It is this orthodoxy that is being challenged by Professor
Said and many others like him throughout the Muslim world.
4. Under the
garb of protecting the honor of Islam, the orthodoxy is robbing Muslims of
their true potentials.
-----
Said
Djabelkhir, an Algerian academic and activist was handed down a prison sentence
of three years after being found guilty of blasphemy. In Algeria, blasphemy is
a crime which is punishable by imprisonment up to five years and hefty fine.
The term is defined as the insult of ‘Prophet Muhammad or the rest of the
Prophets, or ridiculing the basics of Islam or any of its rituals either in
writing, drawing, expression or any other manner’. One can see that the scope
of this definition is so wide that any form of inquiry into Islam can be
construed as blasphemy. Indeed, in Algeria, people have been accused of
blasphemy simply because they were playing cards in Ramzan or in one instance
because the person had accidently dropped the Quran into a bucket of water!
But Said
Djabelkhir ‘crimes’ are more fundamental in nature. Said is a well-recognized
authority on North African Sufi traditions and has published widely in the
field. Through his writings, he has been warning against the excesses of
Salafis who, he argued, have taken over Algeria. However, his worry is not about
the linkages between Salafism and terrorism; on the contrary he argues that the
majority of the Salafis are quietists. What worries him is the social impact of
Salafism: increasing conservatism and a reliance on the literal understanding
of the Quran.
Said has
been writing and speaking against such a literal reading of the Quran which
according to him does not help Muslims and their many modern predicaments. As
part of his endeavor to humanize and therefore historicize the Quran and Islam,
he suggested that parts of the Quran, such as that containing the story of
Noah’s Ark, should not be taken as literal truths. He urges Muslims to make a
distinction between history and myth. What landed him in trouble was his
assertion that Islamic rituals like the Hajj and animal sacrifice associated
with it had its roots in pre-Islamic Arabia. Moreover, he was highly critical
of the practice of marrying pre-pubescent girls and appealed that Muslims
should put an end to it.
In any sane
society, these points would have been debated and thrashed out, first within
the intellectual community and then perhaps by the public at large. But this is
not the case in many Muslim countries which have blasphemy laws on their
statutes. What is astonishing in the Algerian case against Professor Said is
that he was dragged to court by a fellow academic. The judge agreed and handed
down a three-year sentence. Although Said is out on bail and has vowed to
continue the fight for ‘speaking his conscience’, his life is clearly in danger
as he has received multiple death threats. Many Muslims think that killing a
blasphemer is obligatory and it will assure them a place in heaven. In the
coming days, the professor not just has to contend with the courts but also
with the larger society which is now baying for his blood.
Is there
anything wrong in what Said Djabelkhir has argued? Contrary to what many
Muslims believe, Islam did not appear from a void. Pre-Islamic rituals similar
to that of Hajj and animal sacrifice has been recorded by historians and it is
certainly not a crime to argue that Islam appropriated some of these traditions
and gave it a new name and purpose. Historians have even argued that the month
of fasting and its culmination with Eid is also a tradition which predates
Islam.
How is it
problematic to argue that the practice of marrying pre-pubescent girls within
many parts of the Muslim world should be stopped? There was a time when such
marriages were common in all religious communities. But over time, other
communities were able to bring their religious mores in tune with the demands
of modernity. Why is it so hard for Muslims to do so?
Part of the
problem is that the Quran sanctions such marriages. Again, this problem is not
specific to the Quran alone. It is found in almost all religious texts. But
other communities have moved on; they do not regard their holy texts as the
divine utterance of Almighty. The trouble with Muslims is that they have
invested the Quran with divinity and at times regard the text as the uncreated
word of God. It is therefore nearly impossible for a Muslim to go against what
is written in the Quran and in this sense the majority of Muslims are
literalists. Till the time this peculiar relationship between Muslims and Quran
is not reworked, they would continue to believe in antediluvian notions like
blasphemy.
Normally,
blasphemy is considered as an affront to God. But then, we know that in all
such cases, God is never a party in the court. Muslims have arrogated to
themselves the power of God; they represent Him in courts of law. Nothing could
be more blasphemous than representing God Herself. In order to get around this
problem, Muslims have expanded the definition of blasphemy to include affront
to Prophets and even the rituals associated with religion. Thus, the whole idea
behind invoking blasphemy is deeply political and it exists not because any God
wants it to but simply because powerful people within the Muslim community want
to perpetuate their hegemony of outmoded ideas. It is this orthodoxy that is
threatened by Professor Said and many others like him throughout the Muslim
world. They are being punished because they want to change the system; they are
being punished because they have the courage to speak their minds.
Imagine a
Muslim scholar who through her research comes to the conclusion similar to the
one reached by Professor Said. Now as a researcher, she is obligated to publish
and disseminate her findings. But the moment she does so, she will land in deep
trouble because anyone can accuse her of blasphemy. What should she do? Should
she change her conclusion so as to make it palatable to the normative
structures of Islamic orthodoxy and in the process become dishonest? Perhaps
that is the only way out for her for the other path is full of danger many
would not like to tread on. It is not surprising therefore that the Muslim
world is hardly known for original research in any field of inquiry. All
Muslims, who have made fundamental contributions, are located outside the
Muslim world’s sphere of blasphemy.
Islam
prides itself that it teaches Muslims to be honest and truthful. But it appears
that the obverse is true. Till the time blasphemy is on statutes, truth, honest
and originality will continue to be replaced by a servile pastiche. In the name
of protecting the honor of Allah, the orthodox are robbing His devotees of
their full potential.
----
Arshad
Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/blasphemy-law-muslim-world/d/124804
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