Abstract

Although academic freedom lies at the philosophical core of early Arab-Islamic advancement of knowledge and its tradition of free inquiry, academic freedom is currently under scrutiny. This is evidenced by the many ways the concept is widely misunderstood, resisted, contested, and subject to different interpretations by the Arab political elite. While the impediment of freedom of thought tends to be the fundamental signature of totalitarian political regimes, the idea or practice has spread beyond these limitations. While this subject has many facets, this article only examines academic freedom within the scope of knowledge and inquiry derived from the revered text of the Qur’ãn, including its relation to democracy and radicalism.