How the Concept of Political Freedom is Absent from the Historical Thinking and Experience of Muslims

Abstract

Renowned Moroccan historian Ahmed al-Nasiri states, "Know that this freedom created by the Europeans in these years is total atheism, because it absolutely requires the inversion of God's rights, parents' rights and human rights […] Know too that the freedom of the Sharia is what God spoke in his book and the Messenger of God explicated to his Umma and the jurists compiled in the chapter on restraint in their works." In the same vein, Tunisian historian Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf states, "For this reason the rulers of the Europeans said that opinion is free," and later adds "It is no secret that slavery in itself is not egregious to human nature and does not contradict higher morality or religion because it is an affliction only to those for whom freedom is innate." Until recently, maintains al-Allam, Islamic thought had misgivings over the notion of freedom, and was wary about accepting freedom, or naturalizing it within the Arab-Islamic milieu. Given the position of some modern Islamic thinking on freedom, the question that arises is how has classical Islamic thought understood freedom? And where has the practice of freedom in general and of political freedom in particular led to in the Muslim political sphere? Referring to previous studies exploring the notion of freedom, and ones that specifically address freedom among Muslims, the author attempts to reach conclusions that support or challenge the claim that there is an absence of freedom – both in practice and in theory – in the Muslim world. Al-Allam proposes to tackle the subject along the following lines: first, definitions; second, the concept of freedom in western thought; third, political freedom in the thinking and political practice of Muslims; and fourth, freedom in Islamic political philosophy. For the purpose of this study, the concept of freedom chiefly refers to political freedom, and more broadly to freedom of thought and belief.