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Blasphemy, insult and free speech
24 segments in 8 recordings · 2019 to 2024 · 0 verified · 13 checked positions · society/blasphemy-and-free-speech · Feed
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Click a year to jump to itLatest answer · 29 Sep 2024
29 Sep 2024On Current Events
LatestMufti Tariq Masood's remark on scribal errors, and Islam as a deen of mercy
Mufti Abu Layth says there are no mistakes in the Quran's script, but Islam is a deen of mercy, so Mufti Tariq Masood's error should not bring calls for his death.
machine5 min 09 s0:03on YouTube
Earlier answers · 23 · newest first
2024 · 2
29 Sep 2024On Current Events
LatestIs someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?
Not when there was no such intention: Mufti Abu Layth says Mufti Tariq Masood was clearly wrong, but he meant to praise the Prophet, so calling him a blasphemer is unacceptable.
machine4 min 34 s5:12on YouTube
29 Sep 2024On Current Events
LatestHow scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view
Mufti Abu Layth says scholars who long told the public to kill blasphemers, Mufti Tariq Masood once among them, helped build the culture now threatening him, and must teach mercy for everyone.
machine5 min 05 s9:46on YouTube
2022 · 11
19 Aug 2022video
Does Islam allow attacking Salman Rushdie?
No: he condemns the attack on Salman Rushdie as cowardly and contrary to Islam, saying ideas must be answered with speech and that the attack only demonised Islam and revived Rushdie's fame.
machine5 min 16 s0:01on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
What does the Mufti think of Salman Rushdie as a person?
Mufti Abu Layth says he personally finds Rushdie's personality abhorrent and senses a strong negativity from him, and that he researched him in order to be fair.
machine4 min 01 s5:17on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
LatestWhat made Salman Rushdie so hostile to Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth suggests that Rushdie's hostility to Islam is rooted in an unresolved resentment of his father, who embraced his Muslim identity and moved to Pakistan.
machine9 min 13 s15:50on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
LatestIdentity, Midnight's Children, the fatwa and the years in hiding
Mufti Abu Layth says Rushdie's lack of a secure identity runs through his books, and recounts Midnight's Children, Khomeini's fatwa and the years in hiding before turning to The Satanic Verses.
machine2 min 38 s25:03on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
Is there a difference between criticising Islam and insulting it?
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.
machine5 min 16 s27:41on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
What is The Satanic Verses actually about?
Mufti Abu Layth summarises the novel's plot, including the Mahound episode and the brothel whose women bear the names of the Prophet's wives, and says this part, though short, shows the book's hostility to Islam.
machine9 min 11 s32:57on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
Is The Satanic Verses a critique of Islam or an insult?
Mufti Abu Layth says the novel is an insult rather than a critique, since it makes no argument and only portrays the Prophet and his wives offensively.
machine2 min 40 s42:08on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
Why did Salman Rushdie write The Satanic Verses?
In his personal opinion, Rushdie wrote the novel chiefly as defiance of his father, did not expect the backlash, and has since been abandoned even by the left he championed.
machine7 min 56 s44:48on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
LatestShould all religions be free to compete without state backing?
Mufti Abu Layth agrees religion should not be forced on anyone and that people may criticise it freely, but says criticism with an objective is different from insults meant only to hurt.
machine1 min 19 s55:22on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
LatestWhat does holding on to bitterness do to a person?
After jokes about Rushdie's marriages, he says bitterness consumes the person who carries it and hurts those around them, and prays for such hearts to be healed.
machine3 min 56 s56:41on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video
Recap: the novel, insult versus critique, and the false story summarised
Mufti Abu Layth recaps that Rushdie's novel was an insult rather than a critique and that the satanic verses story is a fabrication rejected by al-Tabari, Ibn Khuzayma and Qadi Iyad, recommending al-Shifa and al-Albani's book.
machine6 min 09 s1:52:45on YouTube
2021 · 1
12 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Chat round: Trump's Twitter ban, Surah Ya Sin in the morning, and banter
Light chat: he is unsure how he feels about Trump's Twitter ban and says reciting Ya Sin each morning is not a sunnah.
machine4 min 21 s25:46on YouTube
2020 · 8
29 Oct 2020video
How should Muslims respond to cartoons of the Prophet?
Ignore them: people have the right to criticise religion, and the cartoons are drawn to provoke a reaction.
machine1 min 54 s0:01on YouTube
29 Oct 2020video
Does Islam justify killing someone for showing cartoons of the Prophet?
No: the killing was barbaric and unacceptable in Islam, and the teacher was within his rights, though being killed does not automatically make him a state hero.
machine3 min 17 s1:55on YouTube
29 Oct 2020video
Was it right for the French government to display the cartoons?
No: individuals and satirists may draw them, but a government represents all its citizens, including Muslims, and Macron's move was poorly managed and provocative.
machine3 min 54 s5:12on YouTube
29 Oct 2020video
Do I have to boycott French products?
No: boycotting is a personal choice and understandable, and state-level boycotts make sense, but Muslims who do not boycott should not be guilt-tripped.
machine4 min 32 s9:06on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Should Muslims boycott France over the cartoons?
Mufti Abu Layth condemns the killing outright but says Macron was wrong to project the cartoons; boycotts are understandable but no one should be guilt-tripped.
machine14 min 09 s1:53:33on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Was it right to slap someone for insulting Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth condemns the assault outright, but says provocative critics should be wary and take precautions, since some will not be as civil.
machine9 min 28 s2:09:41on YouTube
24 Aug 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
How should Muslims react when someone tears or burns the Quran?
Mufti Abu Layth says tearing the Quran harms nothing in Islam and Muslims should never be enraged by it, while he condemns it and urges everyone to respect religious symbols.
machine8 min 13 s1:27:21on YouTube
26 Jun 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Should social media companies be allowed to censor people as the new public square?
The guest says Twitter suspended him at the Turkish government's instance and that corporations now controlling the virtual public square should be regulated and bound by due process; Mufti Abu Layth agrees the question is a fascinating one.
machine3 min 55 s2:49:10on YouTube
2019 · 1
15 Jan 2019Responding to Refutations
Final thoughts: mental health, persecution, free speech and the victim card
Mufti Abu Layth condemns any persecution of Ahmadis but says criticising their beliefs is free speech, not persecution, and that not calling them Muslims does not amount to persecuting them.
machine5 min 16 s35:37on YouTube