Criticism of Islam has existed since its formative stages. Early written disapproval came from JewsIbn Warraq, Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism, p. 255.Andrew G. Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, p. 21. and Christians,John of Damascus, De Haeresibus. See Migne, Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 94, 1864, cols 763–73. An English translation by the Reverend John W. Voorhis appeared in The Moslem World, October 1954, pp. 392–98.Buhl, F.; Welch, A.T. (1993). "Muḥammad". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. 7 (2nd ed.), Brill. pp. 360–376, . before the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy, as well as by some former Muslim atheists and agnostics, such as Ibn al-Rawandi. The September 11 attacks and other terrorist attacks in the early 21st century, reignited suspicion and criticism of all of Islam, with calls for moderates to condemn the terrorism of the fundamentalists and help prevent radicalisation and Islamophobia.
Objects of criticism include the morality and authenticity of the Quran and the Hadiths, along with the life of Muhammad, both in his public and personal life. Other criticism concerns many aspects of human rights in the Islamic world (in both historical and present-day societies), including slavery,; See also History of slavery in the Muslim world, Arab slave trade, Slavery in the Ottoman Empire, and Slavery in 21st-century Islamism. treatment of women, LGBT groups, and religious and ethnic minorities in Islamic law and practice. The issues when debating and questioning Islam are incredibly complex with each side having a different view on the morality, meaning, interpretation, and authenticity of each topic.
Middle Ages
John of Damascus, a Syrian monk and presbyter. Persian scholar Ibn al-Rawandi (827–911 CE) started out as a Mu'tazilite Muslim, but later he repudiated Islam and revealed religion in general, rejecting the authority of any scriptural or revealed religion, pointing out specific Muslim traditions and trying to show that they are laughable. Persian polymath Abu Bakr al-Razi ( 865–925 CE) is said to have been heavily critical of the institution of prophethood, the belief in miracles and the practice of obedience to religious authorities as against reason. However, according to Peter Adamson, Abu Bakr al-Razi may have been "deliberately misdescribed" by his fellow townsman Abu Hatim al-Razi. In this view, Abu Bakr was mainly arguing against the use of miracles to prove Muhammad's prophecy, against anthropomorphism, and against the uncritical acceptance of taqlīd vs naẓar. Abu Isa al-Warraq was a ninth-century Arab skeptic scholar and critic of Islam and religion in general. Al-Warraq also doubted claims portraying Muhammad as a prophet. Arab skeptic, rationalist philosopher and poet Al-Maʿarri (973-1057 CE) started out as a Sunni Muslim but later he repudiated Islam, became a critic of Abrahamic religions and Islam, and wrote a satire on the Qu'ran. He wrote and taught that religion itself was a "fable invented by the ancients"Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, 1962, A Literary History of the Arabs, page 318. Routledge and that humans were "of two sorts: those with brains, but no religion, and those with religion, but no brains."Freethought Traditions in the Islamic World by Fred Whitehead; also quoted in Cyril Glasse, (2001), The New Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 278. Rowman Altamira. Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor, wrote in 1391 "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
Early Modern period Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, wrote on Islam. French polymath and philosopher Voltaire wrote Mahomet, ou Le Fanatisme (1741), a religious satire on the life of Muhammad, described as a self-deceived, perverted religious fanatic and manipulator, and his hunger for political power behind the foundation of Islam. He also wrote letters on the brutality of Muhammad and his followers, affirming that it stemmed from superstition and lack of Enlightenment.Referring to Muhammad, in a letter to Frederick II of Prussia (December 1740), published in Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire, Vol. 7 (1869), edited by Georges Avenel, p. 105.
19th century
During the late 19th and early 20th century, the new methods of Higher criticism were applied to the Qu'ran, claiming that it had a non-divine origin. Ignác Goldziher and Henry Corbin wrote about the influence of Zoroastrianism, and others wrote on the influence of Judaism, Christianity and Sabianism.
Alexis de Tocqueville, French political thinker and historian, said about Islam: "I studied the Kuran a great deal ... I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammed." John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States (1825–1829), wrote: "In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with the preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the fraudulent spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as a messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth. Hilaire Belloc, Anglo-French writer and historian. G. K. Chesterton, English writer. Dayanand Saraswati, in his book Satyarth Prakash, he criticized Islam. Pandit Lekh Ram was an Arya Samaj Hindu leader and writer in India who was active in converting Muslims to Hinduism. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister through most of World War II, criticized what he alleged to be of the effects Islam had on its believers. In his 1899 book The River War he attributed to Muslims their fanatical frenzy combined with fatalistic apathy, enslavement of women, and militant prozelityzing.Winston S. Churchill, from The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899)
Contemporary critics
Moderate Muslims
Chekannur Maulavi, founder of the Quranist Movement in Kerala and a critic of hadith. Ibrahim Al-Buleihi is a Saudi liberal writer, thinker and philosopher who is currently a member of the Saudi Shura Council. Irshad Manji (born 1968), a Ugandan-Canadian of Egyptian and Gujarati descent, is a journalist, Quranist Muslim, and advocate of a "reformist" interpretation of Islam. Tarek Fatah was a Pakistani-Canadian writer and broadcaster, as well as a secular, progressive, and liberal activist. Necla Kelek (born 1957) is a Turkish-German feminist and social scientist. Raheel Raza (born 1949/1950) is a Pakistani-Canadian moderate Muslim critical of "Islamic extremism" and of what she has called "inequality toward Muslim women". Zuhdi Jasser, medical doctor and former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, president and founder of American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Stephen Suleyman Schwartz (born 1948) is an American Sufi convert, journalist, columnist, and author. His background is on the traditional political left. He is a critic of Islamic Fundamentalism, especially the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam. Khalid Duran (1939–2010), born in Spain to Hispano-Moroccan Muslim parents, worked in many countries, was a specialist in the history, sociology and politics of the Islamic world, and coined the term "Islamofascism" to describe the push by some Islamist clerics to "impose religious orthodoxy on the state and the citizenry". Mohammad Tawhidi, Muslim influencer and reformist imam. Tufail Ahmad, British journalist and political commentator of Indian origin and MEMRI reporter.Tufail Ahmad, Modi Rule: an Opportunity for Muslims, OPEN Magazine, 13 October 2014."Tufail Ahmad - Journalist and commentator on South Asian affairs". tufailahmad.com. Retrieved 2015-03-12.Ahmad, Tufail (22 August 2016). "The Radicalisation Series: Analysing the threat to Muslim youths in India". Firstpost. Retrieved 10 September 2016.Ahmad, Tufail. Muslim Liberals Vs ISIS, New Indian Express, 3 March 2015.Bob Taylor, Muslim Voices demand Islamic reform, Communities Digital News, 8 March 2015. Seyran Ateş opened a liberal mosque in Berlin to break with conservative traditions. The mosque caused international backlash from Muslims. Since then she has been living under police protection. Qanta Ahmed, a British-American physician and author who describes herself as a practicing Muslim and a feminist but is opposed to Islamism and calls on Western governments to ban organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Former Muslims
There are also outspoken former Muslims who believe that Islam is the primary cause of what they see as the mistreatment of minority groups in Muslim countries and communities. Almost all of them now live in the West, many under assumed names as they have had death threats made against them by Islamic groups and individuals.
Converts to other religions
Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian-American convert to Protestant Christianity who founded the pro-Israel web site Arabs for Israel and stated that "Islam is more than a religion, it is a totalitarian state". She is also the author of Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror. Magdi Allam, an outspoken Egyptian-born Italian journalist who describes Islam as intrinsically violent and characterised by "hate and intolerance". He converted to Catholicism and was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI during an Easter Vigil service on March 23, 2008. Zachariah Anani, a Baptist Christian and a former Sunni Muslim Lebanese militia fighter. Anani said that Islamic doctrine teaches nothing less than the "ambushing, seizing and slaying" of non-believers, especially Jews and Christians. Anwar Shaikh (1928–2006) was a Pakistani-British author who converted to Hinduism and wrote several books critical of Islam.The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West by Daniel Pipes, Pg. 283 Sabatina James (born 1982) is a Pakistani-Austrian author and convert to Roman Catholic Christianity who was meant to undergo an arranged marriage with her cousin but escaped and started a new life
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder, a former Israeli spy, and a convert to Christianity. He has written Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices. Majed el-Shafie is an Egyptian-Canadian convert to Christianity who was tortured and condemned to death for apostasy in his fatherland. He is the president and founder of One Free World International (OFWI), a human rights organization. Ali Sina, pseudonym of the founder of several anti-Islam and anti-Muslim websites Sarah Haider founded the organization Ex-Muslims of North America after she left Islam. Haider supports other ex-Muslims. Rachid Hammami (born 1971) is a Moroccan Christian convert from Islam who hosts a weekly call-in show where he criticizes Islam. Nabeel Qureshi, Ahmadiyya Muslim converted to Christianity. His book Seeking Allah and finding Jesus is famous among Christians and Muslims. He had debated with Muslim scholars.
Ex-Muslim irreligionists Abdullah al-Qasemi (1907–1996), one of the most controversial intellectuals in the Arab world because of his radical change from defending Salafism to defending atheism and rejecting organized religion. Ahmad Kasravi was a pre-eminent Iranian linguist, nationalist, religious reformer, historian and former Shia cleric. Ali Dashti, Iranian senator and critic of Muhammad in "Twenty Three Years" in Persian.
Salman Rushdie (born 1947), Indian-British novelist and essayist. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was the centre of a major controversy.