Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide

Blasphemy accusations in the Muslim world are increasingly used as key tools by authoritarian governments and extremist forces to acquire and consolidate their power. These charges, which draw on disputed interpretations of Islamic law and carry a traditional punishment of death, have proved effective in crushing or intimidating not only converts and heterodox groups, but also political and religious reformers. This volume provides the first world survey of the range and effects of such accusations in the contemporary Muslim world, in international organizations, and in the West.