Islam and Human Rights
Greater Jihad
ST's
Pre-destination
Sharia
Submission to the will of Allah
Modernist/liberal perspectives on HR's
Unique position of the human being
Qur'an
Qadr
belief of predestination linked to nature of Allah as omniscient and omnipotent
Muslims trust the events they undergo throughout the course of their life are according to the will of God
God Almighty, through His infinite knowledge
Muslims balance this belief, with the belief in free will and accountability
knows and specifies all beings and events together with their states and attributes
and the times and places they all enter into existence
Muslims believe God's Knowledge and Will is all-encompassing
Humans have freedom of choice
God knowing our future acts doesn't force a person to commit acts
God knows because He is not bound by time as we are
Qur'an recognises human free will but says all creative power resides with God
God creates good and evil; but evil is executed as human choice consequence
Creation of evil or allowing evil to happen is not evil, but choosing evil is evil
if humans have choice they must have option of evil otherwise there wouldn't be any difference between angels and humans
because of evil's possibility, good actions invaluable
responsibility and accountability attacthed to freedom of choice - Allah manifests justice and compassion
internal spiritual struggle towards one's essence
greater jihad is proclaiming war on the ego's destructive and negative emotions and thoughts (e.g., malice, hatred, envy, selfishness, pride, arrogance, and pomp), which prevent humans from attaining perfection
overcoming obstacles on the path to knowledge, and eventually divine knowledge, divine love, and spiritual bliss
Islam perspective is that humans have been "honoured with good" (17:70) and are naturally capable of recognizing goodness and virtue
Humans are also:
"the best composition" (Qur'an, 95:3-6) - we have the capacity to exel in our humanity
"caretaker on earth" (Qur'an, 2:31-33) charged with the duty of upholding goodness and righteousness
given "the trust" (Qur'an, 33:72) which is interpreted self-awareness and freedom of choice that comes with it
Islamic ethical behaviour is a requirement of being a Muslim; expressed udner the concept and description of Sharia
Qur'an emphasises justice, truthfulness and support for vulnerable
Qur'an establishes human common sense and the ability to distinguish good or permitted (halal) from wrong or forbidden (haram)
Muslims judged on deeds by Allah on Day of Judgements and this determines their entry to paradise
Ethical behaviour is a requirement of being a Muslims; this is a concept of Sharia
Conservative/Shariah perspective suggest Islam's incompatability with western conception of human rights and advocate for 'Islamic Rights' and strict adherence to Cairo declaration
Modernist persepctives suggest Islam and UN Human Rights are compatible in conjunction with 'Shariah reservations' around gender rights, religious expression etc
Liberal perspectives suggest Qur'an is 'no a constitution' and rather and ethical and social code of guidelines which is entirely compatible with western human rights
Islamic adherents view human rights as rights conferred by Allah
as created by Allah, rights cannot be taken away or changed + failure to uphold them has consequences
because of this belief some adherents take issue with UDHR
provides basic human rights which Muslims must upheld for all human beings, by virtue of being human
right to live and rspect human life (5:32, 6:151)
Right to safety of life (3:75)
Respect for women's chasity (17:32)
Right to basic standard of life (51:19)
Right to freedom (to not be enslaved) (Hadith)
Right to justice (5:2, 5:8, 4:135)
Equality of human beings (49:13)
Right to co-operate and not co-operate (5:2)
divinely prescribed rights have the potential to be misinterpreted and missapplied by imperfect humans
dignit and equality are fundemental rights of all humans
Under Islamic laws, women have right to own property and businesses, engage in financial transactions, vote, recieve inheritance, obtain and education and participate in legal and politcal affairs
fact some Muslim societies do not always accord women all these liberties is an example of how human beings can fall short of fully implementing the Divine Will
Even Islamic states should exercise freedom of religion and accept and tolerate non-muslims