Islam and Human Rights: Tradition and Politics

by Ann Elizabeth Mayer

Overview

Islam and Human Rights is a probing examination of how the Islamic tradition has been exploited for political ends by regimes and institutions seeking to legitimize policies inimical to human rights. Ann Elizabeth Mayer critically appraises Islamic human rights schemes that dilute the human rights afforded by international law, comparing them with the complex Islamic legal heritage and international human rights law. Challenging stereotypes about a supposedly monolithic Islam inherently incompatible with human rights, Mayer dissects the political motives behind the selective deployment of elements of the Islamic tradition by conservative forces seeking to delegitimize demands for democracy and human rights.

The fifth edition provides an updated consideration of government policies on Islam and human rights activism and how they are affecting developments in several Middle Eastern countries, and features a new chapter on the resistance of human rights for sexual minorities by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) project to co-opt international human rights law to criminalize 'defamation of Islam' occurring in the West. The new edition also analyzes the other most recent and important issues of the region, including: The burgeoning pressures in the Middle East for human rights leading up to the Arab Spring; The ambitious campaign of the (OIC) to influence the UN human rights system by forging alliances with non-Muslim states hostile to human rights; The concerted efforts by this cross-cultural alliance to subvert international human rights law under pretenses of supporting human rights; The intensifying controversies over issues of sexual orientation and gender identity in the Middle East; The Danish Cartoons controversy and the OIC project to co-opt international human rights law to criminalize 'defamation of Islam' occurring in the West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813344676
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	07/31/2012
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1760L (what's this?)

About the Author

Ann Elizabeth Mayer is associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan, a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Certificate in Islamic and Comparative Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She has conducted research in countries ranging from Morocco to Pakistan and has published extensively on Islamic law in the contemporary Middle East and on international human rights law, especially women’s international human rights.

Table of Contents

Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 Assimilating Human Rights in the Middle East Background: Legal Hybridity in the Middle East Misperceptions About Applying International Human Rights Law as Serving Imperialism Cultural Relativism Muslims Challenge Cultural Relativism Actual Human Rights Concerns in the Middle East The Emergence of International Human Rights Law Muslims' Responses to and Involvement in the UN Human Rights System Summary 2 Human Rights in International and Middle Eastern Systems: Sources and Contexts International Human Rights: Background Islamic Human Rights: Sources The Impact of Islamization on Constitutions and Justice The Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan and Its Aftermath Saudi Arabia Confronts Pressures for Reforms and Liberalization Summary 3 Islamic Tradition and Muslim Reactions to Human Rights The Premodern Islamic Heritage Muslim Reactions to Western Constitutionalism The Persistence of Traditional Priorities and Values Consequences of Insecure Philosophical Foundations Islamic Human Rights and Cultural Nationalism Ambivalent Attitudes on Human Rights Summary 4 Islamic Restrictions on Human Rights Permissible Qualifications of Rights in International Law Islamic Formulas Limiting Rights Restrictions in the Iranian Constitution Restrictions in the UIDHR Restrictions in Other Islamic Human Rights Schemes Islam and Human Rights in the New Constitutions of Afghanistan and Iraq Summary 5 Discrimination Against Women and Non-Muslims Equality in the Islamic Legal Tradition Equality in Islamic Human Rights Schemes Equal Protection in US and International Law Equal Protection in Islamic Human Rights Schemes Equality in the New Afghan and Iraqi Constitutions Summary 6 Restrictions on the Rights of Women Background Islamic Law and Women's Rights Muslim Countries' Reactions to the Women's Convention Tabandeh's Ideas Mawdudi's Ideas The UIDHR Islamization in Iran and the Iranian Constitution The al-Azhar Draft Constitution The Cairo Declaration and the Saudi Basic Law Women's Rights in Pakistan The New Afghan and Iraqi Constitutions The Influence of Sex Stereotyping Summary 7 Islamic Human Rights Schemes and Religious Minorities The Historical Background of Current Issues Facing Religious Minorities International Standards Prohibiting Religious Discrimination Shari'a Law and the Rights of Non-Muslims Tabandeh's Ideas The UIDHR The Iranian Constitution Mawdudi and Pakistan's Ahmadi Minority The Cairo Declaration, the Saudi Basic Law, and the al-Azhar Draft Constitution US Policies on Religious Minorities and Developments in Afghanistan and Iraq Summary 8 The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Muslim States Resist Human Rights for Sexual Minorities Background Sexual Minorities in the Middle East Contested Islamic Authority Tensions with the West over the Treatment of Sexual Minorities Muslim States' Objections to New UN Initiatives Summary 9 Freedom of Religion in Islamic Human Rights Schemes Controversies Regarding the Shari'a Rule on Apostasy Muslim Countries Confront Freedom of Religion The Contemporary Significance of Apostasy Tabandeh's Ideas The UIDHR The al-Azhar Draft Constitution The Iranian Constitution Sudan Under Islamization Mawdudi and Pakistani Law Affecting Religious Freedom The Cairo Declaration and the Saudi Basic Law The Afghan and Iraqi Constitutions US Interventions in the Domain of Religious Freedom Expanding the Reach of Laws Criminalizing Insults to Islam: From the Rushdie Affair to the Danish Cartoons Controversy Summary 10 An Assessment of Islamic Human Rights Schemes Appendix A: Excerpts from the Iranian Constitution Appendix B: The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam Appendix C: 2009 Resolution on Combating Defamation of Religions Glossary Bibliography Notes Index

Editorial Reviews

"In this fifth edition of what has become a classic book, Mayer provides an early look at the human rights implications of the Arab Spring, and by substantially expanding coverage of new movements (particularly among women) and the newly emerging issues of gender and sexual orientation, offers considerably more than a simple update. Islam and Human Rights belongs in the library of any scholar seriously interested in its important topics. Highly recommended."
—Choice

"A unique contribution to the discourse and practice of human rights.”
—Reza Afshari, Pace University

"A winning reference for any discussion on Islam and human rights issues.”
—The Midwest Book Review 

Praise for Prior Editions: 

“Highly recommended to all scholars and students of human rights in the Muslim world…Particularly useful for its incisive deconstructions of government-sponsored ‘alternative' human rights frameworks, and the political calculations at their heart.”
—Anthony Chase, Occidental College 

From the Publisher