By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
The
freedoms of religion and speech are first among those individual rights guaranteed
in the U.S. Constitution, and they are also protected in the International
Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. Those
fundamental freedoms originated in the natural law of the 18th
century Enlightenment, and their nemeses are religious laws that prohibit apostasy
and blasphemy.
The
Enlightenment transformed politics and religion in libertarian democracies with
the progressive ideals of democracy and human rights, but not in Islamic
cultures. Indonesia, once considered a bellwether
of human rights among Islamic nations, recently convicted a prominent
politician of blasphemy. In Pakistan,
there is growing public support to enforce blasphemy laws, and in Turkey and Egypt
the freedom of speech has been denied to stifle political opposition.
Thomas
Jefferson was a child of the Enlightenment who championed religious freedom and
“the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in
America. As a slaveholder Jefferson was
a hypocrite in advocating liberty, but his advocacy of religious freedom illustrated
its political priority in the U.S. and its uneasy relationship with religion.
Before
the Bill of Rights provided the freedoms of religion and speech, blasphemy laws
were enforced in colonial America; and today authoritarian leaders and
terrorists in Islamic cultures use apostasy and blasphemy laws to stifle political
opposition. The freedoms of religion and
speech can thus be a means of U.S. national security to counter radical
Islamist terrorism.
While
there is too little religious freedom in Islamic nations, there may be too much
religious freedom in the U.S. Christian fundamentalists
have demonstrated their political power by electing Donald Trump, and President
Trump supports their claim that their right to exercise their religious freedom
allows them to ignore laws that conflict with their religious beliefs.
Individual
rights are essential to provide liberty in law, but those rights must be
balanced with providing for the common good.
In America, individual rights have been emphasized at the expense of
providing for the common good, while in Islamic nations those priorities are reversed. Finding a balance between those two purposes
of government is a challenge for any democracy.
Human
rights, beginning with the freedoms of religion and speech, must be at the
foundation of the rule of law to prevent political oppression. Even in a democracy there can be a tyranny of
the majority if minorities are denied human rights; and history has shown that
a religious tyranny can be even more oppressive than a secular one.
Religious
laws that preclude human rights are instruments of political oppression. That is the case when apostasy and blasphemy
laws deny the freedoms of religion and speech and when the freedom of religion
allows unlawful discrimination. The
freedoms of religion and speech are fundamental human rights, but should never be
used to deny others the equal protection of law.
Religion
is part of the problem so that it should be part of the solution. The
greatest commandment to love God and love our neighbors—including our
neighbors of other races and religions—is a
common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. It is based on reason and shared values that oppose
religious fundamentalism and political oppression.
Human
rights begin with the freedoms of religion and speech, and since we love those freedoms
we should share them with others as a matter of our faith and politics. There can be no liberty in law without the
freedoms of religion and speech, but the friction between individual rights,
religion and politics will continue to challenge democracies until apostasy and
blasphemy laws are eliminated and the limits of religious freedom are better
defined.
Notes
and references to related commentary:
On a Christian governor in Indonesia found guilty of blasphemy and
sentenced to prison, see https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/world/asia/indonesia-governor-ahok-basuki-tjahaja-purnama-blasphemy-islam.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share; see also, Indonesia
president calls for respect of governor blasphemy verdict, at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-politics-president-idUSKBN18510K?il=0; see also, The
Guardian view on blasphemy in Indonesia: exploiting religion for political
purposes at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/09/the-guardian-view-on-blasphemy-in-indonesia-exploiting-religion-for-political-purposes.
On Pakistan’s blasphemy law worries opponents of extremism, see https://apnews.com/46292e5d926049e3821c9cf2b784ddbf/Pakistan's-blasphemy-law-exalts-killer,-threatens-bloggers?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=2fd23856ae-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-2fd23856ae-399971105; see also, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/20/islam-ghamidi-pakistan-blasphemy-laws.
On Erdogan’s oppressive rule in
Turkey and violence on his recent visit to the U.S., see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/first-erdogans-goons-attack-protesters-then-the-embassy-blames-the-victims/2017/05/19/be3eacbe-3c04-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinionsA&wpmm=1. See also, Turkey
as a dictatorship masquerading as a NATO democracy at http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/29/the-dictatorship-in-natos-clubhouse-erdogan-kurds-turkey/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Flashpoints.
On human rights issues in Egypt that
foster Islamist violence, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/its-time-to-take-a-hard-look-at-the-us-relationship-with-egypt/2017/04/02/a1ceaf1a-154f-11e7-833c-503e1f6394c9_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
The Pew Research Center has confirmed
the prevalence of apostasy and blasphemy laws throughout Islamic cultures in
the Middle East and Africa, and that they are being enforced. See http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/29/which-countries-still-outlaw-apostasy-and-blasphemy/.
On Jefferson’s role in promoting the
freedoms of religion and speech and libertarian concepts of human rights as
standards of legitimacy in the context of conflicting religious beliefs, see
the Introduction to The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law:
The Heart of Legitimacy, pages 10-15, posted in Resources at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/.
On the new French president having
similar views on religious liberty as those of Thomas Jefferson, see Emmanuel Macron has a history buff’s view of
Islam and religious strife at http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2017/05/france-secularism-and-religion.
On faith and freedom, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2014/12/faith-and-freedom.html.
The Qur’an provides: Let there be no
compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear
from Error. Whoever rejects Evil and
believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy
hand-hold that never breaks. And
Allah hears and knows all things. (Qur’an, Al Baqara
2:256) But whenever Shari’a prohibits apostasy (abandoning
religion or conversion to another religion) or blasphemy (any speech or act
disrespectful of God), there is compulsion in religion.
On the diversity of opinions among
Muslim scholars on human rights under Shari’a, see Religion, Law and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy, at pages
9-16, posted as a Resource at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/p/resources.html.
The Executive Summary of the International
Freedom of Religion Report for 2015 (released on August 8, 2016) is at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper.
On religion and reason, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2014/12/religion-and-reason.html.
On faith and freedom, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2014/12/faith-and-freedom.html.
On the greatest commandment as a
common word of faith, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.
On religion and human rights, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/02/religion-and-human-rights.html.
On religion, human rights and national security, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/05/religion-human-rights-and-national.html.
On a fundamental problem with religion, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/05/a-fundamental-problem-with-religion.html.
On moral restraints on the freedom of speech, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/05/moral-restraints-on-freedom-of-speech.html.
On balancing individual rights with providing for the common good, see
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/balancing-individual-rights-with.html.
On how religious fundamentalism and secularism shape politics and human
rights, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/how-religious-fundamentalism-and.html.
On religion, the Pope and politics in the real world, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/09/religion-pope-and-politics-in-real-world.html.
On the politics of loving our neighbors as ourselves, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/the-politics-of-loving-our-neighbors-as.html.
On the freedom of religion and providing for the common good, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/04/the-freedom-of-religion-and-providing.html.
On the freedom of religion and speech: essentials of liberty in law,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/the-freedoms-of-religion-and-speech.html.
On liberty in law: a matter of man’s law, not God’s law, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/09/liberty-in-law-matter-of-mans-law-not.html.
On the evolution of religion and politics from oppression to freedom,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/09/the-evolution-of-religion-and-politics.html.
On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html.
On religion, liberty and justice at home and abroad, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-liberty-and-justice-at-home.html
On
moral ambiguity in religion and politics,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/03/moral-ambiguity-in-religion-and-politics.html.
On ignorance and reason in religion and politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/03/ignorance-and-reason-in-religion-and.html.
On human rights, freedom and national security, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/04/human-rights-freedom-and-national.html.
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