ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the process of freedom of speech. In cases of politicisation of religion when Islam metamorphoses into the ideology of Islamism critical reasoning is not only legitimate but is also a vital part of the freedom of speech and an entitlement under the protection of human rights. One weapon Islamists employ is the accusation of Islamophobia to silence non-Muslims, scholars and journalists who engage in critical reasoning. The other weapon is the accusation of heresy to denounce the views of Muslims who criticise Islamism on the basis of their understanding of Islam. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, together with leaders of the many Islamist movements, are using the United Nations to pursue a double agenda: they not only aim at restricting freedom of speech to silence critics and to police freedom of expression. Islamists not only deny Islamic diversity and the historicity of Islam, but also pursue a general restriction on free speech.
