Islam and Copyright: Discussions from the Arab World

Abstract This article presents and discusses views of some contemporary Arab scholars who have examined the validity of the notion of copyright from the point of view of Islamic law as they understand it. Whereas a few of these scholars have rejected the notion altogether, most of them have argued for its compatibility with Islamic law. To argue for or against the validity of copyright from the point of view of Islamic law, these scholars have employed an impressive host of arguments, rules, principles, and views from Islamic scriptural texts and legal history, making references to Qur’anic verses, Prophetic traditions, historical incidences and practices. These discussions, however, have focused on specific technical questions relating to Islamic law, such as whether authorship (knowledge) can be monetarized, the kind of right that copyright is, the contractual aspects of the relationship between the producers, distributors, and consumers of knowledge, and who should regulate the application of copyright and on what basis. The article concludes that these discussions – which may have influenced current policies on copyright in Arab countries – are mostly uncritical and failed to question problematic aspects of copyright and use the rich normative tradition to which Arab scholars belong to provide valuable input to present debates on the validity, usefulness, and future of copyright.