FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSIONFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak without
censorship and/or
limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used [United Nations, 1966, 1976]. The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a
human right under Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in
international human rights law in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression". Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law [United Nations, 1966, 1967]. Freedom of speech, or the freedom of expression, is recognized in international and regional
human rights law. The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the
American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights [Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold, 2005; Kumar, Ambika, 2006].
In
Islamic ethics freedom of speech was first declared in the
Rashidun period by the
caliph Umar in the
7th century. In the
Abbasid Caliphate period, freedom of speech was also declared by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph
al-Ma'mun) in a letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to
convert through
reason.
According to George Makdisi and Hugh Goddard, "the idea of
academic freedom" in
universities was "modelled on Islamic custom" as practiced in the medieval
Madrasah system from the 9th century.
Islamic influence was "certainly discernible in the foundation of the first deliberately-planned university" in Europe [Boisard, Marcel A., 1980].
* Selected REFERENCES / Sources:Amnesty International: Annual Reports: URL
http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/index.html Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold. (2005). Freedom of Expression: The Essentials of Human Rights. United Publishers. Boisard, Marcel A. (July 1980), "On the Probable Influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law", International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (4): 429–50. Goddard, Hugh. (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kumar, Ambika. (2006). ‘Using Courts to Enforce the Free Speech Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Published by
Chicago Journal of International Law.
Summer 2006. URL
http://www.allbusiness.com/corporate-governance/4082846-1.html United Nations: ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16th December 1966: Entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49. URL
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (United Nations) Wikipedia. (2010). ‘Freedom of Speech.’ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. URL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression.
