Inquiry into the status of the Human Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief Submission: Inquiry into the status of the human right to freedom of religion or belief This purpose of this submission is to raise the committee’s awareness that Islam: - militates against “the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief” - incites to “violations or abuses” of religious freedom - is antithetical and inimical to the “protection and promotion of freedom of religion or belief” Any inquiry into “the human right to freedom of religion or belief” which avoids examining arguably the largest global threat to those freedoms would be abdicating its responsibility to fully inform its stakeholders. Whether it is the nine Islamic countries in the top ten of the World Watch List of Christian Persecution(1), crucifix-wearing “Christians in Sydney fac(ing) growing persecution at the hands of Muslim gangs”(2) or the summary execution of those who blaspheme or apostatise(3), Islam, in practice and in doctrine, militates against “the human right to freedom of religion or belief”. The purpose of this submission is not to illustrate “the nature and extent of (Islamic) violations and abuses of this right” [which are well-documented elsewhere(4)] but to draw the committee’s attention to the Islamic doctrinal “causes of those violations or abuses”. An informed understanding of Islam is crucial to effectively addressing potential future conflicts between Islamic teachings which impact negatively on “freedom of religion or belief” and those Western freedoms we had almost come to take for granted, until Islam came along to remind us that they must be ever fought for. Islamic texts contradict on “freedom of religion or belief” While it is true that there are several Islamic texts which suggest Islam tolerates “freedom of religion or belief”, these are overwhelmed by the many verses which incite hatred and violence against anyone who denies, rejects or criticises Islam. Apologists quote: "Let there be no compulsion in religion", Quran 2:256 and "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion", Quran 109:6 to convince us that Islam espouses religious freedom. Critics quote: 'The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah" ' Sahih Muslim 1:30, 1:33 as one of many Islamic texts which teach the opposite (refer Appendix). To resolve this dilemma we need to look at the contexts of the contradictory verses. Quran 109:6 is from Mohammed’s early Meccan period (the Quran’s surahs are not chronologically arranged). Mohammed’s newly minted Islam was in its start-up phase in the pluralistic Mecca of 610AD. He had few followers and sought to convert people of other faiths; as his numbers grew so did the forcefulness of his message that his was the one and only, true religion. 'The Messenger of God proclaimed God’s message openly and declared Islam publicly to his fellow tribesmen. When he did so, they did not withdraw from him or reject him in any way, until he spoke of their gods and denounced them. "(Mohammed) has reviled our gods, denounced our religion, derided our traditional values and told us that our forefathers were misguided… We can no longer endure (Mohammed’s) vilification of our forefathers, (his) derision of our traditional values and (his) abuse of our gods" ' The history of al-Tabari VI, pp 93-94 (The Quraysh) said, "We have never seen the like of what we have endured from (Mohammed). He has derided our traditional values, abused our forefathers, reviled our religion, caused division among us, and insulted our gods. We have endured a great deal from him" The history of al-Tabari VI, p 101 Mohammed was ultimately driven out of Mecca in 622AD (Al-Hijra) due to the threat posed by his growing bellicosity and was given refuge in the Jewish town of Yathrib, which subsequently became known as Medina (Madinat Rasul Allah - "City of the Prophet of Allah"), after he and his followers forcefully seized control, ultimately driving all non-Muslims from Arabia. "Mohammed said: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim." Sahih Muslim 4366 Mohammed’s initial message of religious freedom devolved over that time frame, in direct proportion to his power to enforce it, into one of absolute submission to Islam. Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' Sahih Bukhari 1:8:387 Those who dared question Mohammed’s volte-face on religious freedom were presented with new relevations from Allah, which explain the Islamic principle of abrogation: "Whatsoever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten We bring a better one or the like thereof; knowest thou not that Allah is over everything Potent?" Quran 2:106 "Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: with Him is the Mother of the Book." Quran 13:39 'Whenever We replace a verse with another verse - and Allah knows well what He reveals - they say, "You are but a forger." The fact rather is that most of them are ignorant.' Quran 16:101 "And if We so will, We will surely take away what We have revealed to you, then you shall find no one to rely upon against Us in this matter." Quran 17:86 Doctrinally, “freedom of religion or belief” had been supplanted by religious coercion, according to the Islamic principle of abrogation. Quran 109:6’s appeal for freedom of religion no longer applied because Allah had changed his mind, which is within His infinite power. Contrarily, Quran 2:256, "Let there be no compulsion in religion", was “revealed” to Mohammed after he conquered Medina and is not generally considered to have been abrogated. It is noteworthy that this singular verse’s message of Islamic “freedom of religion or belief” is nevertheless contradicted by Islam’s multiple exhortations that “When a person who has reached puberty and is sane voluntarily apostatizes from Islam, he deserves to be killed”. One can choose to believe that this one verse, "Let there be no compulsion in religion", represents Islam’s core message on “freedom of religion or belief” but that would necessitate ignoring a plethora of repudiating verses and laws. Of the two Quranic verses which call for “freedom of religion or belief”, Quran 109:6 has been abrogated and Quran 2:256 is anomalous in the context of voluminous contradictory evidence. As a related matter, there is one more Islamic text which is often misleadingly used to argue that Islam equally values the lives of believers and unbelievers: ''… [T]hat if anyone killed a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land'' Quran 5:32 The succeeding verse immediately qualifies the preceding verse as excluding unbelievers from its remit: "(but those who) spread corruption on the earth, their punishment is no other than that they shall be killed, or be crucified, or their hands and legs be cut off from different sides" Quran 5:33 And what constitutes corruption, according to Islam? Islamic law states: o24.2(e) unbelief is the vilest form of corruption, as goes without saying 'Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik [Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper] A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law by Ahmad Ibn Naqib Al-Misri i.e. Far from embracing non-Muslims into the brotherhood of the ummah, Quran 5:32 specifically excludes unbelievers, as made clear by its context with the immediately subsequent verse, Quran 5:33. Only by cherry-picking a singular verse from the Quran and then deliberately ignoring the overwhelming host of Islamic texts which contradict it, can we maintain the illusion that the Islam of Mohammed, Allah and the Quran is in any way supportive of the fundamental human right of “freedom of religion or belief”. “Freedom of religion or belief” opposed by Islamic texts, leaders and followers Having already noted Sharia law’s declaration that “unbelief is the vilest form of corruption”, it is salutary to note that the Cairo Declaration for Human Rights in Islam(5), as signed by the OIC’s 56 majority-Muslim member countries plus Palestine [deemed “The Collective Voice of the Muslim World”], declares that - ARTICLE 24: All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari’ah. ARTICLE 25: The Islamic Shari’ah is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration. Furthermore, according to Yusuf Al Qaradawi, “Muslim Brotherhood Spiritual Leader, Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars,” Islam’s strict laws AGAINST “freedom of religion or belief” are “what kept Islam to this day”(6). i.e. Islam would have not have survived to this day if it permitted religious freedom. Additionally, Pew Research Center reports that 76% of “South Asian” and 56% of “Middle East- North African” sharia-supporting Muslims “favour the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion”; 58% of Australia’s moderate Malaysian Muslim neighbours agree(7). Finally, to reinforce Islam’s claim to “freedom of religion or belief” it is often stated that Islam honours Christianity’s Jesus as a prophet.