ISLAM AND HUMAN

RIGHTS

Lily Zakiyah Munir

Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies
(CePDeS)
Indonesia

Is Shariah Compatible with HR?

Yes, shariah is based on principles of
good government, human welfare,
justice, protection of human life and
dignity, and equality of all human beings;
No, if shariah is reduced as a formal force
like now in many Muslim countries with
despotic governments, dictatorship,
repression to women and non-Muslim,
and is used to justify injustices and
violations of human rights

Freedom House Survey

In 2003, of 56 IOC members, 30
not free; 22 partly free; only 4
free
22 (40%) totalitarian regime; 15
considered democratic
Perimeter: multi-party, multicandidates, competitive elections
Note: The Taliban in Afghanistan, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan, Nigeria, Aceh in
Indonesia

External Barrier: Double Standards

I must admit that I am not a supporter of the

UDHR. Our history of civilization has taught us
how big words can be transformed into atrocious
crimes. We cannot forget that the initiators of the
Declaration of HR and the plain French citizens are
the same people who shortly afterwards, and before
the ink of the Declaration had dried up, organized a
campaign and sent their forces under the leadership
of their favorite general, Napoleon, to Egypt. We
must not forget either that the United Nations
Organization issued the UDHR in the same year that
it recognized the Zionist state that usurped Palestine
and robbed its people of every right stipulated in the
Declaration, including the right of life.
Ismat Sayf al-Dawla (Egypt)

External Barrier: Double Standards

Do individuals in Asia and Africa have

the right to protest the blatantly
undemocratic representation of the UN
Security Council? Can citizens of the
international community argue that
nuclear weapons- not just in India, Pakistan
or North Korea, but also in the United
States, home to half the worlds arsenal
threaten their rights to life and security?
(Shirin Sinnar, Reflection on the Anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Commentary,
International Movement for a Just World, New Series No.
19 (December 1998), Kuala Lumpur at p. 4.

Internal Barrier: Formal shariah

o Authoritarian, speaking in Gods name
o Repression of the other (women and nonMuslim)
o Severe punishment, losing humanity
o Theocracy over democracy
o Abuse of human rights
o Monolithic, losing flexibility, plurality and
richness of law

Rahmah al-ummah fi-ikhtilafi al-aimmah

(Different opinions of Muslim jurists are blessings for
Muslim society) The Prophet

Human Rights in Islam

Haqqul insan muqaddam ala haqqil llah (human
rights must be prioritized over Gods rights)
because God is capable of defending His own
rights in the hereafter, while humans have to
defend their own (classical fiqh literature).
Violations of human rights would not be
forgiven except by the concerned people, while
violation of the rights of God will be taken
care of by God himself. The concept of tauhid,
the oneness of God, implies that Allah is
omnipotent to protect His own rights. (Ibn
Araby)

Foundation of Human Rights in

Islam
1) Tauhid (Oneness of God) no intermediary between
human and God.
O mankind, We have created you from a male and female
and made you into tribes and nations so that you may
know one another. The most noble of you before God is
the most God-conscious of you. (QS al-Hujurat:49/13)
2) The dignity of humans: as Gods khalifah (deputy) on
earth responsibilities & rights.
3) Humans as the most noble creature all creatures incl.
the angels prostrate to Adam human with aql (ratio)
and lust

Five Basic Rights (al-Kulliyatul

Khoms)
Maliki jurist Imam Shatiby
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Protection of Freedom of Faith

Protection of ones life
Protection of freedom of thinking
Right for procreation
Right for property

Freedom of Expression
The Quran outlaws coercion on belief:
There is no coercion in religion, it has been
made clear what is guidance from falsehood
(Q. 2:256)
If your Lord had wished, all of those on earth
would have surely believed. Do you then
coerce people until they become believers?
On pagans: If God had wished, they would not
associate God with others.
If your Lord had wished, He would have made
people into one nation.

Concept of human being goes beyond rights

(Chandra Muzaffar)

Humans were created because of Gods love for

humankind, and proclaimed as His vicegerent
(khalifah) on earth. As vicegerent of God, human
lives on earth to serve God, to do Gods will.
After this life, he returns to God, to be judged for
his deeds on earth.
As Gods vicegerent, he is bestowed with fundamental
rights. His ultimate responsibility transcends to
God. His most precious relationship is with God,
directly. His most sacred role is as vicegerent,
deputy of God on earth.

Human as avenue for Gods eternal values

As khalifah, human has loftiest place:
higher than the angels, who prostrate
to him. He is endowed with life,
intelligence, creativity, freedom, power,
love, compassion, and mercy.
Basis of human life is spiritual; purpose of
human efforts is ultimately spiritual;
human strives to transform life and
society guided by spiritual values
truth, justice, compassion.

Quranic message is universal

The oneness of God (tauhid) inspires and
motivates Muslim to strive for the oneness of
human kind. All human differences of color,
creed, class are secondary. What is primary is
righteous conduct guided by God-consciousness.
Mankind is one single nation. And Allah sent
Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and
with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge
between people in matters wherein they are
different
(Q.S. al-Baqarah/2:213)

Islam and Economic Rights

The Quran bestows upon the poor an automatic
right to the wealth of the community through
the institution of the zakat (a wealth tax every
Muslim with some means is required to pay).
The Quran says: And in their wealth there is
acknowledged right for the needy and destitute
(51:12)
There are many other economic rights in Islam,
e.g. all persons shall have access to the basic
necessities of food, clothing, shelter, education
and health care irrespective of their age, sex,
color, or religion.

Social and Civil Rights

Everyone has the right to found a family,
the right to privacy, the right to
freedom of movement, and the right to
freedom of religion.
Every person has the right to freedom of
conscience and worship in accordance
with his religious beliefs. (UIDHR)
To you be your Way, and to me mine.
(Q.S. al-Kafirun/109:6)

Main Issues Islam and HR

1)

Women in conventional shariah:

Polygamy, inheritance, public leadership, family

leadership

1)
2)

Status of non-Muslim
Freedom of Religion

It is not permissible to force a non-believer into

embracing Islam. If one is forced to embrace
Islam, he will not be considered Muslim except
his embrace of Islam is of his own choice
(Ibn Qudamah, a Hanbali jurist)

There is no compulsion in religion.

Reconciling Shariah and HR

The ISSUE:
(Narrow) Shariah or Fiqh, product of human
intelligence in the past, is viewed as solution for
all times and places.
The EFFECT:
Stagnant and rigid Shariah, fails to respond to
concrete social, political, and economic problems
of Muslim societies
The ALTERNATIVE:
Fiqh of reality (fiqh al-waqi) enlightening on
concrete human issues: gender, politics, civic
issues, etc.

Shariah Reform: Imam Shatiby & Maqashid

Shariah

Shariah: law, purpose, text, reason (ijtihad).

Overall purpose: promotion of public benefit
(maslahah).
A source of social ethics and humanity with threelevel goal:
Primary: 1) protection of faith, 2) protection of
life, 3) protection of intellectual freedom, 4) right
to progeny, 4) right to property
Secondary: Maslahah intended for flexibility and
ease in implementing law.
Tertiary: supplementary maslahah focused on
ethics and aesthetic.

Muslim Reformer: Muhammad Abduh

(1849-1905)
I found Islam in the West
Encouraged Muslims to optimize rational
dimension in religious thoughts as an effort
to synergize Islam and current reality.
1)
Free Muslims from blind imitation (taqlid)
2)
Rational rereading of Quranic texts.
Influence of Abduh:
1)
Rational stream secularism in Islam,
Thaha Husein
2)
Revivalist (salafi) stream Rashid Ridha,
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Muslim Reformer: Abdulahi Ahmed A.

An-Naim
The precise content of shariah has always
been, and will continue to be, the
product of human understanding in
specific historical context.
Reform by shifting reference from
contextual, operational Medina verses
to universal, fundamental verses of
Mecca
(Ustadh Mahmoud Taha, Sudan, who was hanged
a week after shariah was enforced by Numeiri)

What do Muslim Reformers say?

Muhammad Arkoun: The interpretation of the

Quran is and the hadiths has never been
detached from practical politics. There is a
strong connection between interpretation and
political supremacy and it is used to exert control
over Muslim communities.
Muslim communities have failed to understand
the basic message of Islam the fact that it is not
static but develops in a dynamic fashion. Islam is
a message of God which relates to humanitys
inevitable degradation. The relevance of the
Islamic message is thus also rooted in the
permanence of humanitys problems. (From
Shariah to Maqashid al-Shariah)

What do Muslim Reformers say?

Its not untrue to say that Islamic civilization

and Arabic civilization is a civilization which
revolves around the text. The central role of
the text makes it become a paradigm which
frames almost all Muslims lives throughout
history (Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid).

Performing jihad in Lebanon is not necessary,

since working hard to support your own family
and educate your children well is part of jihad
which nowadays must be a priority (Imam
Akbar Sheikh Al-Azhar, Sayyed Tantawi to
Egyptians volunteers for Lebanon after Israeli
attack in 1990).