Abdullah Alaoudh: Religious Freedom in the Qur'an and Islamic Law | Saudi Arabia Today

In this interview I sit down with well known legal scholar, public intellectual, and Saudi political expert Abdullah Alauoudh to discuss a range of topics related from religious freedom and politics in the Qur'an to the recent changes in Saudi politics.
Abdullah is the co-founder and general secretary of the National Assembly Party, Saudi Arabia's first openly declared political party which calls for an elected parliament and constitutional safeguards in Saudi Arabia. He is the director of the "Countering Authoritarianism" project at the Middle East Democracy Center and served for two years as a senior fellow at the Al-Waleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the University of Georgetown, before that he was Research Scholar in Law and an Islamic Law & Civilization Research Fellow at Yale Law School (2017-2018). He earned his LL.M. and S.J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where his dissertation focused on the role of religious institutions in post-revolutionary Arab countries and the transition to democracy. Alaoudh also received his bachelor’s degree in Islamic law from Qassim University.
You can follow his work on Twitter/X here: @aalodah
thefreedomi.org/team/abdullah...

[@howmanybeansmakefive]

Thank you both, another great episode! It's great to hear a perspective of Shari'ah in a modern context/politics. I'm British with a muslim background, now studying law in both the UK and US. As you know Islam in the UK/Europe is increasingly becoming a hot-button issue by the day. Your last question about the nature/limits of Islamic legal expression (in secular societies) extremely thought-provoking, and would love if you are able to explore that more in future episodes. I'm very interested in the interaction of religious/Islamic rights with the idea of 'liberal' rights (particularly in UK/France/ECHR) and to what extent European notions of secularism can accommodate muslims (in a positive and normative sense), or if there is an inherent christian character that contains fundamental disjunctures with islamic legal thought/muslim political expression. I'd love to hear more from modern Shari'ah scholars (or if you have any recommendations) about the history if Islamic Legal thought, it's recent interactions with Anglo-American/European law, and perhaps exploring deeper questions about the traditions of textual interpretation/interpretive fecundity/legal hierarchy, law-interpretation-enforcement, and more religio/legal-anthropological work. As a last note, are you aware of the work of Christine Hayes, and her book 'What's Divine about Divine Law?' I wonder if you know anyone who has taken up her call to investigate her themes in an Islamic context.

[@sidneysentell2510]

Thank you for your comment. I will look for Dr. Hayes book. Her wonderful Yale course on the Old Testament is on KZbin. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6CQin9jodtmiLs

[@miAIFI]

One of the most controversial and interesting discussions I’ve seen on this channel. But maybe Gabriel should slow down so we can see him record something in Medina in the future (since it’s open to non-Muslims now!)

[@sereneibrahim2596]

Stay safe Abdullah. God bless and protect you.

[@paulthomas281]

@48:00 was disturbing. "You cannot stop people from doing something there is a disagreement about" ... As if this makes Islamic thought palatable. How about allowing people to do things even if it goes against consensus? This is the better route.

[@oneandonlymoth]

This was really insightful, thank you

[@AJansenNL]

Very interesting guest and conversation.

[@JamshidRowshan]

Hello Professor, best wishes.

[@stadiamak692]

Salman al awdah was one of the islamic awakening scholars... the sahwa

[@sereneibrahim2596]

👏

[@reginaldodonoghue9253]

I’ve suggested this before, but You should get Anna Bonta Moreland on to discuss her book ‘Muhammad Reconsidered’.

[@chrisazure1624]

Reconsidered in what way? As a prophet or pirate?

[@reginaldodonoghue9253]

@@chrisazure1624 Prophet

[@porphyry17]

​@@reginaldodonoghue9253there are more verses in the Quran dedicated to transparent angelic s3x dolls(houri's) than there are verses about Jesus's role. only 1 about crucifixion(4:157) which poorly "explains" anything(even then you have "Jews boasting about k1lling the Messiah". which no Jew would do. lazy writting on the part of the Quran. "we k1ll3d an impostor pretending to be the Messiah" would have been better but it is easier to vilify both the Jews and Christians as "kufar" and "despicable") so how am i to take any of this s*** seriously?

[@chrisazure1624]

@@reginaldodonoghue9253 We should reconsider Muhammad is a prophet? That would be a hard stretch for me knowing what I know about him.

[@bobbycalifornia7077]

@@chrisazure1624 What you think* you know about him.

[@TheJackfd81]

I like how this guy said the white man has come to civilize you Islam doing that for 1400

[@fadiljelin7297]

Oh, Arabs are white now. Good to know! 👍 How about you send a memo to everyone. Thanks for the update.