Banning books and freedom of expression

i admire your ability to break down an issue so logically. dare i say it it reminds me a lot of the works of imam ghazali.

so, let us proceed.

 

europe is catching up with the rest of the un-enlightened countries on this issue

 

again, all the wrong reasons and wrong premises and mixed up. please do not get upset at my rough speech, as i acknowledge that i am a blunt man without refinement. one's thinking should not be shackled or even tainted by western prejudices and values.

keeping in mind with my recently propounded concept of unbiased solutioneering, we must break down the question and issues before addressing each separately.

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first, there are two concepts (not necessarily the same)

a) banning books / censorship

b) freedom of expression
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second, is law:

a) islamic law, which is derived from sources

b) law in islamic countries, claimed to be based on islamic law. in many cases may not be the islamic law. (dalayil al-khayrat, if found, will be confiscated on arrival in saudi arabia)

c) various man-made laws; and some are based on whims, fancies, imaginary demons, irrational fears and queer aspirations of certain humans and their predilections du jour, or implausible generalizations.
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third is, loss/benefit:

a) benefit of such banning/censoring to the individual

b) benefit to the society

c) short-term benefit

d) long-term benefits

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the act of censoring books itself as:

a) general policy - and policy of the state and

b) specific policy exempting a set of people

c) accepted policy with guidelines, riders and recommendations.
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implication of such censorship:

a) material/intellectual loss to the individual (the audience)

b) material loss to the society

c) tangible/intangible loss to the author and/or publishing house

d) perceived loss
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reasons for censorship (books/freedom of expression BK/FoE)

a) sharayi reasons

b) non-sharayi, political reasons.

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penalties (jail, death etc) for breach of censorship:

a) when there is breach of shariah

b) when there is no breach of shariah
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that is a quick definition of the 'problem' as i see it; and i suppose a couple of iterations will refine the statements.

wa billahi't tawfiq.

 

:s1:

As someone who likes to read all the time and eclectically
I would like to ask what is the Islamic ruling on banning of books
And freedom of expression? It might appear to be two separate
issues but it's the same issue if one thinks about it

I am not well read enough in Islamic fiqh to know if this question has been answered by ulema. But I know that the printing press was not invented till the later times and certainly the plethora of books we have today didn't exist. Books were hand written and a luxury item hence the importance of rote memorisation.

Personally I think it is better not to proscribe any books and let any offending books be refuted by another book but this leads to the issue of what to do in cases like The Satanic Verses or other books written to deliberately defame islam or (more importantly) our Master. As a youth I went on book burning marches but as i ve gotten older I realise the importance of allowing books to be out there for people to read. Knowledge is power. I know that no country has absolute freedom of speech (USA perhaps?) and that in many countries in Europe Mein Kampf is banned from public libraries etc or that Britain once banned Spycatcher on the grounds of national security but generally these books can still be gotten and you won't go to jail or mobbed for owning or reading them.

Someone like AH can answer although all input is welcome. For me books are vital and I'd get distressed if government said this book is not available and you'll go to jail if you read it or own it.