# Is there a difference between criticising Islam and insulting it?

*The right to criticise is not a right to insult*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/t0phqrnjjby/s/6/
- Date: 2022-08-19 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Salman Rushdie & The Satanic Verses | Mufti Abu Layth (27:41–32:57)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pHQRNJjBY&t=1661s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/t0phqrnjjby/

**Topics:** Blasphemy, insult and free speech

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Yes: he says everyone may criticise a religion they do not believe in, even if it offends, but that this is not a right to insult, and no society allows speech without limits.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says everyone has the right to criticise what they do not believe in, even if it offends, but that freedom to criticise is not freedom to insult, and every society sets some limits on speech.

**Evidence, his words at 28:05:** “every person i i firmly believe they have the right to criticize if they don't believe in something they have the right to criticize it even if it offends but there is a difference between just criticizing and insulting” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pHQRNJjBY&t=1685s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says Rushdie sometimes claimed the novel was not about Islam but in later interviews acknowledged that it is and asserted a right to insult. Mufti says he firmly believes everyone has the right to criticise what they do not believe in, even if it offends, but that criticising and insulting are different things that only sometimes overlap, like a Venn diagram, and that people conflate freedom of speech with a licence to insult. He recounts a talk in which Rushdie, asked about showing respect and about India's blasphemy and hate speech laws, asked why he should show respect, and claimed that the UK restricts hate speech only for things like racism and that America does not restrict even that, which Mufti believes is mistaken. He argues that every society has limits, asking whether a book glorifying paedophilia would be acceptable, and mentions that people get into trouble for speech about the LGBT or Jewish communities, before returning to the novel.

## Sources and names cited

- Salman Rushdie
- The Satanic Verses (novel)
- freedom to criticise is not freedom to insult

## Transcript (machine tier, 27:41–32:57)

[27:25] one is called gibril farishta and the other is saladin champcha now salman rushdie sometimes he tried to play off that oh i wasn't even speaking about islam and i don't know why these people uh he clearly knew what he's doing in other more especially later interviews he acknowledges of course it's about islam i have the right to insult islam i have the right to he feels do these things so in several in fact there's several interviews of his on youtube where he's asked by non-muslims by indians

[28:05] that look but sure criticize and this is an important point here i want to say every person i i firmly believe they have the right to criticize if they don't believe in something they have the right to criticize it even if it offends but there is a difference between just criticizing and insulting now sometimes like a venn diagram sometimes there may be an overlap but not always like if i just say to you if i say to someone oh your moms are this and this

[28:42] that's just insulting them i say oh i'm criticizing him no that's insulting so you see people conflate freedom of speech so in one of these things he's asked that look but you're insulting isn't there isn't there a point about showing some respect and he says why should i show respect why he says you're trying to border freedom so the person says but in india there's a law the blasphemy law and it's about showing it's hate speech is hate speech not a thing so in that lecture on youtube he says that uk and i think i'm pretty sure he's

[29:22] misinformed on this but he says the uk restricts hate speech to things like racism and he says america doesn't even do that and i agree with america so in that lecture he's saying that even racism isn't really a thing which you know it just goes to show that if if there's no you know you know like the poem says not my and i mean it's it's attributed it's a hadith as well

[29:57] that if there's no sense of at all that look so there's nothing so i mean would you and this is an interesting question so what if somebody spoke of the glory of pedophilia is that something that is is not problematic if somebody wrote a book glorifying uh pedophilia that they're having sexual

[30:35] relationships with little children and toddlers and infants is that not an abomination it's not like this and if somebody starts writing a blog about this and promoting and saying that this is is this not of concern there are there are there will always be parameters it doesn't matter and him saying this i my american the viewers can correct this he claims in the thing that america does not have um i'm sure that's wrong he claims that under freedom under freedom of

[31:14] expression in america you can make openly racist remarks and say like for example all black people are like this or people such as such people are dumb or all such and such people are he says that that's allowed in the united states he's saying in a particular conference to all these journalists and stuff so it had me a bit baffled because i'm sure that's not the case but allahu alam but in the uk clearly that's not the case you can't do things like that so this is where this person he's making a point about insulting he says i have the right to insult because it's freedom of speech

[31:51] and and that's the difference between freedom to criticize and freedom of speech because i'm free to sorry freedom to insult they're two very different things that they may be an overlap but they're different things when you peripheralize them so yeah so he this is a good point that look somebody said um uh that yeah you can't say things about lgbt you can't say things about the jewish community you can't it's anti-semitism it's you know people i'm sure they get

[32:30] into trouble for that even in america i'm sure they do but um so and and isn't just but that's it look let's not digress here so this is salman rusty with his point of the satanic verses so he has this story where which is a novel about these two main characters one of them is and he gives them the name gibril farishta one of them now this is him clearly knowing look furishta is not a name it means angel everybody knows that jibril farishta come on it's like saying here's the protagonist

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment T0pHQRNJjBY/s/6. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/t0phqrnjjby/s/6/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.