An Idea Whose Time Has Come: ‘Islamic Declaration Against Religious Police’

Mustafa AkyolOn January 4, theMuslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), a non ‐​profit organization founded by a group of American Muslims in 1988, released an important document: “Islamic Declaration Against Religious Police. ”It began by explaining why such a declaration is necessary:The distressing events transpiring in the Islamic Republic of Iran impress upon us the need to issue a clear and declarative statement against the institution of religious or morality police in particular, and the ideology of compulsion in general. We do so not from a political or partisan perspective but from a deeply held sense of moral and religious obligation flowing from our Islamic faith and sincere commitment to God.Then the declaration noted that “religious police” is a grave problem not just in Iran, but also “Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.” It added that in some other Muslim‐​majority countries, such as Egypt and Pakistan, regular police forces also engage in “moral or religious policing.”Why was that wrong? The answer must be obvious to anyone with a sense of human liberty. But the MPAC also made a specifically religious case against religious coercion:The institution of religious or morality police violates a core tenet of the Quranic message: “Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error” (Q 2:256). This verse can be understood as a universal decla...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs