Yawancin (amma ba duka ba) waɗanda ke da matsala da iƙirarin cewa, "Musulunci bai girmama 'yancin addini ba," a zahiri suna da matsala da ra'ayin cewa Allah bai girmama 'yancin addini ba. Wannan shi ne ainihin tushen matsalarsu. Ra'ayin cewa akwai addini ɗaya kaɗai da Allah ya yarda da shi yana ƙyamatar su a zuciya. Ta yaya Allah ba zai girmama 'yancin lamiri na mutane ba? Ta yaya Allah mai jinƙai ba zai girmama 'yancin zaɓin mutane ba?

Many (but not all) of those who have a problem with the claim, “Islam does not respect freedom of religion,” actually have a problem with the idea that God does not respect freedom of religion. That is really the core of their problem. The idea that there is only one religion acceptable to God is inherently repulsive to them. How could God not respect people’s freedom of conscience? How could a merciful God not respect people’s freedom of choice?

Ya sa wasu Musulmi da suke karɓar ƙimar 'yancin addini suke barin Musulunci a ƙarshe saboda wannan ƙimar. Me yasa? To, don me ya kamata haƙurin imani ya ƙare a mutuwa? Idan muka nace, a matsayin ƙa'ida, da ɗabi'a, da adalci, cewa shugabannin duniya su yi haƙuri da kowane imani daidai, to don me ba za mu nemi haka daga Allah ba? Amma sai mu koya cewa a'a, gaskiyar ita ce imanin mutum yana da muhimmanci. Yana da muhimmanci ga Allah kamar yadda Ya sanar da mu, ba kawai a cikin wahayi na ƙarshe ba, har ma a cikin dukan wahayin da suka gabace shi! Riƙe ƙa'ida kamar 'yancin addini don duniya, amma keɓewar ceto ga lahira, a kalla, babban sabani ne, idan ba kuma kwarai da gaske ba wani saɓani ba ne. Yawancin Musulmi a yau, yayin da suke rayuwa ƙarƙashin tasirin mamaye na sakulanci mai 'yanci, suna ƙara zaɓar barin keɓewar ceto da riƙe cewa imani ba ya da muhimmanci a duniya ko a lahira. Irin waɗannan mutane suna wa'azi cewa: "Dukan addinai a ainihi ɗaya ne," "Dukan addinai hanyoyi ne zuwa ga Allah," "Dukan addinai suna kai ga alheri," da sauransu. Yana iya zama kamar girmama ƙimar 'yancin addini al'amari ne kawai na siyasa da na aiki wanda Musulmi za su iya saɓani a kansa. A gaskiya kuwa, ƙimomin siyasa suna da mummunan sakamako ga imanin Musulmi na yau da kullum. Ta haka ne falsafar 'yanci, wadda ƙimar 'yancin addini ta samo asali daga gare ta, take iya karkatar da imanin Musulmi a hankali amma sosai, tana ɓatar da muminai masu aminci. Allah ya kiyaye mu duka.

This is also why we see some Muslims who adopt a value like religious freedom ultimately leave Islam because of that value. Why? Well, why should tolerance for religious belief end at death? If we demand, as a matter of principle, ethics, and justice, that worldly rulers tolerate every and all beliefs equally, then why wouldn’t we demand that of God as well? But then we learn that, no, the reality is that it does matter what a person believes. It matters to God as He has informed us, not only in the last revelation, but also in all previous revelations as well! To maintain a principle like religious freedom for dunya but salvific exclusivity for the akhira is, to say the least, a major tension, if not an outright contradiction. Many Muslims today, as they are living under the hegemonic influence of liberal secularism, increasingly have opted to abandon salvific exclusivity and to maintain that beliefs neither matter in dunya nor in akhira. Such people preach: “All religions are essentially the same,” “All religions are paths to God,” “All religions lead to good,” etc. It might appear that respecting the value of religious freedom is merely a political and pragmatic issue that Muslims can disagree about. In reality, political ideals have severe consequences for the iman of the average Muslim. This is how philosophical liberalism—from which the value of religious freedom originates—is able to subtly but significantly distort Muslim belief and misguide otherwise faithful believers. May Allah protect us all.