Free Speech, Scholarly Critique and the Limits of Expression in Islam

This book is an important contribution to the assiduous Muslim contention that human rights, freedom of conscience and expression are integral to Islam. Such claims have come under increased scrutiny and debate especially after the Salman Rushdie controversy in 1989 and also in light of fatwas issues by various Muslim scholars against those deemed to apostates and blasphemers. The papers presented in this volume challenge the sources, hermeneutics and methodologies often used to constrain or limit freedom of expression and the critique of religious beliefs and attitudes.