How Compatible Are The Normative Commitments Of Islam With The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 1,5, University of Edinburgh, language: English, abstract: During the last few decades, growing attention has been paid to the enforcement (and the prevention of the abuse) of fundamental human rights, mainly facilitated by the International Human Rights Regime. Moreover, human rights-issues are increasingly subject to a controversial international debate, especially in the light of continuous globalisation, events such as 9/11 and rising cross-cultural communication. One specific discussion-point concerns ‘Islam and Human Rights’, the crux of the matter being the compatibility of Islamic normative values with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Every scholar who approaches this debate more profoundly automatically comes across with the Universalist/Cultural- Relativist-debate. These academics go a step further. They are concerned with the evaluation of the compatibility-analysis and discuss the validity and consequences of such an analysis.1 However, the following paper operates independently of the Universalist/Relativist debate. The aim is to explore the compatibility of the Islamic tradition with the Universal Declaration, and the author believes that the most appropriate approach is an objective comparison, without judging the result of the analysis in any way. 2 The first and second section sketch the basic characteristics of the UDHR and Islam. An understanding of both doctrines is a necessary tool for the purpose of this essay. The third part analyses the compatibility of both doctrines on two levels. The essay then outlines the diverse Muslim positions regarding human rights in Islam. This is essential to be able to draw a sound conclusion concerning the compatibility of Islam with the UDHR, in the last section. 1 Universalists maintain the validity of the UDHR-doctrine and often criticise the Islamic- or other traditions on grounds of their non-conformity with the International Bill of Human Rights. Cultural Relativists, on the other hand, argue that the doctrine of universal human rights is challenged by different moral claims derived from different cultural contexts. Compare Jones (2001:51-76), Brown (1999:103-127), Pollis (2000:9-30), Schmale (1993:3-27), Rüsen (1993:28-46), Donelly (1998: 1-23) and Huntington (1997). 2 Also, the term ‘compatibility’ does not imply a notion of superiority (of one over the other doctrine) in this context.

This powerful volume challenges the conventional view that the concept of human rights is peculiar to the West and, therefore, inherently alien to the non-Western traditions of third world countries. This book demonstrates that there is a contextual legitimacy for the concept of human rights. Virginia A. Leary and Jack Donnelly discuss the Western cultural origins of international human rights; David Little, Bassam Tibi, and Ann Elizabeth Mayer explore Christian and Islamic perspectives on human rights; Rhoda E. Howard, Claude E. Welch, Jr., and James C. N. Paul examine human rights in the context of the African nation-state; Kwasi Wiredu, James Silk, and Francis M. Deng offer African cultural perspectives; and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im and Richard D. Schwartz discuss prospects for a cross-cultural approach to human rights.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Note on transliteration -- Foreword -- Introduction: broader contextualisation of progressive Islam -- 1 The poiesis imperative -- 2 The epistemological imperative -- 3 The religious pluralism imperative -- 4 The Islamic liberation theology imperative -- 5 The human rights imperative -- 6 The ethical imperative in Islamic jurisprudence/law -- 7 The gender-justice imperative -- 8 The imperative of non-patriarchal Islamic hermeneutics -- Conclusion: the future of progressive Islam -- Select Bibliography -- Index

In the last few years, issues related to human rights, including encouraging the democratization of Muslim societies from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, have acquired great importance in shaping the character of U.S.-Muslim relations and U.S. policy toward Muslim countries. An important impetus behind this development were the tragic events of 9/11, which demonstrated the destructive potential of militant groups that use a distorted interpretation of Islam as justification for their actions. These events also led to a greater realization by the United States--and the West--that a lack of democracy and lack of respect for human rights have been contributory factors to the rise of militant Islam. Consequently, in its approach toward the Muslim world, the United States has emphasized the themes of human rights and democracy. Within the Islamic world, too, both secular and moderate Islamists have begun focusing on issues related to human rights. Although many conservative Muslims believe that Islam is incompatible with Western notions of democracy and human rights, reformist Muslim thinkers and activists maintain that a proper reading of Islamic injunctions and the ethical values underpinning those injunctions shows there is no such incompatibility. Complicating the debate is the fact that many Muslims--secular as well as conservative and reformist--doubt the seriousness of the U.S. commitment to the cause of human rights and democracy in the Muslim world, believing that the United States applies human rights' standards selectively to suit its strategic and economic interests. Irrespective of the validity of these charges, they are part of the context of the U.S.-Muslim dialogue on human rights. And it is this complex dialogue that this volume seeks to advance.

In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the International Declaration of Human Rights, a document designed to hold both individuals and nations accountable for their treatment of fellow human beings, regardless of religious or cultural affiliations. Since then, the compatibility of Islam and human rights has emerged as a particularly thorny issue of international concern, and has been addressed by Muslim rulers, conservatives, and extremists, as well as Western analysts and policymakers; all have commonly agreed that Islamic theology and human rights cannot coexist. Abdulaziz Sachedina rejects this informal consensus, arguing instead for the essential compatibility of Islam and human rights. He offers a balanced and incisive critique of Western experts who have ignored or underplayed the importance of religion to the development of human rights, contending that any theory of universal rights necessarily emerges out of particular cultural contexts. At the same time, he re-examines the juridical and theological traditions that form the basis of conservative Muslim objections to human rights, arguing that Islam, like any culture, is open to development and change. Finally, and most importantly, Sachedina articulates a fresh position that argues for a correspondence between Islam and secular notions of human rights.

A sensitive and topical overview of religious fundamentalism, examining traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Despite the sustained scholarly attention that the United Nations and international NGOs have received in the twenty-first century, they still remain under-researched from a management studies perspective. This volume brings together rich analyses of these organizations’ functioning, arguing that they are best understood as intermediaries between international decision-making and funding bodies in the developed world and initiatives that take place on the ground, primarily in the Global South. Based on current management research, this follow-up to Rethinking International Organizations (Berghahn, 2002) provides a wealth of both empirical and theoretical insights, along with practical recommendations how these organizations can function more effectively.

Henriette Sinding Aasen: Universal and Islamic conception of human rights and justice. Shahla Ezazi: Family in Iran. Shiva Daulatabadi: Education in Iran / Shiva Daulatabadi, Hassan Ashayeri & Morteza Majdfar. Shirin Ebadi: Democracy, human rights, and the Iranian government / Shirin Ebadi & Henriette Sinding Aasen. Fariborz Raisdana: Political economy of poverty in Iran. Krzysztof Gawlikowski: Dialogue among civilizations as a new challenge in the era of globalization.