(
daawa
) on behalf of the Ismaili movement. The
term has also been adopted as a title to honor
Twelve-Imam Shii
Ulama
, who may be called huj-
jat Allah (or
hojjatollah), “proof of God.” Among
Muslim theologians and philosophers, hujja has
been used in the technical sense of a convincing
or rational proof in a theoretical argument, such
as in debates over the immortality of the soul or
the createdness of the Quran.
See also
aUthority
; s
hiism
.
Further reading: Farhad Daftary,
The Ismailis: Their
History and Doctrines (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1990), 127–128, 561.
human rights
The relationship between Islam and human rights
is the subject of much contention in modern
political and religious discussions. Individual
rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of
assembly, and freedom of religion that found early
expression in the U.S. Bill of Rights, the French
Revolution, and more recently in the 1948 United
Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human
Rights form the basic framework of interna-
tionally recognized principles of human rights.
Together with additional covenants on political,
economic, and social rights, the rights of children,
and declarations against torture and discrimina-
tion based on race and gender, these documents
aim (some would say claim) to represent a set,
albeit incomplete, of universal principles appli-
cable to all persons everywhere.
However, some question whether these rights
are really achievable or desirable for everyone,
particularly in Islamic contexts. Those who see
Islam as an impediment to human rights often
focus on gender inequalities found in the
sharia
,
Islamic law, and the poor human rights records
of many governments in Muslim-majority lands.
They cite these as evidence that some essential
quality of Islam prevents the realization of human
rights for its believers. The vast majority of Mus-
lims and many non-Muslims argue, however, that
human rights are not only compatible with Islam
but integral to its core values of justice, equality,
and freedom. They criticize the cultural bias of
the current UN framework as placing too much
emphasis on the individual and call for a deeper
understanding of the rich cultural and religious
heritage Islamicate societies have to contribute to
the discussion.
The Arabic word for right, haqq (pl. huquq),
also means truth. Muslims agree that the ulti-
mate expression of truth for Islam is found in
its holy book, the q
Uran
, and that God (a
llah
)
is the final arbiter of justice. Human rights then
are given to humanity and guaranteed by God.
They are universal and for all time. The Quran
discusses freedom of religion (Q 2:256), justice
and equality (Q 5:8), the right to a basic stan-
dard of life (Q 51:19), the right to participate in
governance (Q 42:38), and rights of inheritance
(Q 4:7–9), among others. It should be noted
that interpretations of these verses are not fixed.
Rather, they often reflect the liberal and conser-
vative views of different sectors of society. One
can say broadly, however, that rights in Islam are
conceptualized as belonging to the individual
and to the community, and the community’s right
to function in harmony takes precedence over
those of an individual. In addition to this major
difference, some Islamic scholars (
Ulama
) also
promote a vision of gender relations built on the
idea of complementarity, which refers to different
but equal and complementary rights and roles
for each of the genders. This differs significantly
from secular and feminist emphasis on strict
equivalence of gender roles.
The public discussion of human rights in
Islam has traditionally taken the form of legalistic
debates between ulama as to the meaning of the
Quran. While this continues to the present day,
additional forums appeared in the latter half of the
20th century. They include the Universal Islamic
Declaration of Human Rights issued in 1981 and
the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
K 314
human rights
adopted in 1990. The latter expressly asserted
rights to
edUcation
, equality before the law, mar-
riage, ownership of property, work, freedom from
unlawful arrest, and freedom to express one’s
opinions freely to the extent that these all fall
within the sharia.
Muslims are currently confronting human
rights problems throughout the Muslim world,
in Europe, and in the U
nited
s
tates
. Many of
the measures enacted to strengthen security after
the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United
States have disproportionately targeted Muslims
within the country as well visitors and students
coming from the Muslim world. In Europe, Mus-
lims face issues ranging from the wearing of the
hijab
in French public schools to discrimination
in employment and housing aimed at growing
immigrant populations. In many countries in the
Middle East, notably a
lgeria
, e
gypt
, and s
yria
,
Islamic organizations opposing secular govern-
ments through both peaceful and violent means
have been brutally repressed. i
ran
as a formal
Islamic state is often criticized for its dogmatic
approach to Islamic law. Critics of the govern-
ment are often jailed, and
Women
are required
to conform to “Islamically proper” dress codes.
At the same time, Iranian women enjoy broad
representation in the national parliament, and the
non–state-sponsored press in the country is lively.
Across the region, efforts to create civil society
organizations (J
ordan
and l
ebanon
are nota-
ble exceptions) are often thwarted. This affects
human rights organizations in general but also
groups that advocate for specific issues such as
women’s rights. The latter has included in recent
years efforts to modify marriage and divorce laws,
promote women’s suffrage, and bring attention
to inadequate public services for poor women
and children. The prominent Iranian human
rights activist Shirin Ebadi (b. 1947), a Muslim
writer, lawyer, and judge, was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2004 for her work on many of
these issues. Other leading contemporary Muslim
human rights advocates include Abdullahi An-
Naim (United States and s
Udan
), Abd al-Karim
Soroush (Iran), F
atima
m
ernissi
(m
orocco
);
k
haled
a
boU
e
l
F
adl
(United States), Taslima
Nasrin (b
angladesh
), and m
Uhammad
a
rkoUn
(France and Algeria).
See also
democracy
;
government
, i
slamic
;
secUlarism
.
Michelle Zimney
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