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Human Rights Conflict In The Koran Essay, Research Paper

Are Islamic human rights laws compatible with Western human rights laws? Does the Qur’an, as the most authoritative text in Islamic law, have the potential to be consistent with Western notions of human rights? In Islam, the Qur’an is the supreme authority in every religious matter including law, yet only a small percentage of Islamic law is derived exclusively from the Qur’an. The commands in the Qur’an are both general and few. Therefore, a great importance is placed upon hadiths, reports of the Prophet’s teachings, to explain the Qur’anic guidelines. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Islamic law is derived from hadiths, consensus of companions and classical scholars, and analogical or independent reasoning of scholars. These tools of Islamic law specify the means to the good and just society that the Qur’an calls for. Scholars, such as Anne Mayer or Nikki Keddie, who have written on this topic, evaluate the whole breadth of Islamic law and seek to prove that Islamic law has been tainted over the years and that the “true spirit” of Islam is completely in accordance with contemporary International human rights laws. If this is in fact the case, then a study of the Qur’anic verses themselves should reveal as much. Thus, this paper will only focus on the laws and principles contained explicitly in the Qur’an and examine some of the points of contention and convergence between Qur’anic laws and International laws to see if there is any hope for reconciliation. Is it possible that the Qur’an, in spirit, is completely consistent with contemporary International human rights, but centuries of legal tradition has “corrupted” its message? The answer to this question is the task of this paper.Individual human beings possess inherent dignity and worth. Rather, I should say, this is a belief common to both Eastern and Western moral philosophy. However, the means by which this worth is recognized and measured is quite different. In the West, human rights are regarded as self-evident truths that are purely recognizable by reason and the only task lies in discerning those rights. In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is arguably the highest standard of human rights known in the West. Therefore, hence forth, the UDHR will be used as a symbol of Western International Human Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights claims that it has identified the rights, discernible by reason, that are essential to all human beings. On the other hand, the traditional Muslim viewpoint is that God provides human rights through revelation and prophetic teachings. These rights are codified in Islamic law. Yet, as alluded to earlier, there are significant conflicts between the UDHR and rights derived from Islamic law. Articles two, four and five from the UDHR present the main conflict between the two systems of law. According to Article two “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”Certainly one of the main sources of contention between International human rights and Qur’anic human rights is sexual and religious discrimination. The Qur’an consistently distinguishes between Muslims and non-Muslims as well as men and women. Each group is treated differently, afforded different rights, and subject to specific prohibitions. This is in direct contradiction to the first article of the UDHR. Which verses in the Qur’an sanction violation of this article and can there be any reconciliation?Religious discrimination is asserted in verses that deal with marriage practices and taxing. The believers are told to “wed not idolatresses till they believe and give not your daughters in marriage to idolaters till they believe” (2:221). Therefore, it can be reasonably concluded that idolaters are legally excluded from the wedding circle of Muslims. So in a case where a Muslim desired marriage with an idolater, laws derived on the basis of this verse could prohibit it. A reformist, who desires to create harmony between international human rights and Islamic human rights, could interpret this verse in a manner that suggests the social circumstances that necessitated this ruling no longer exist. However, the verse does not give a specific reason why Muslims cannot marry idolaters. It simply states that “a believing slave is better to marry then an idolater” (Qur’an 2:221). Therefore, due to the explicit religious discrimination of this verse an attempt to nullify this law so that it conforms to International human rights norms would require the use of tools outside of the text (i.e. historical studies, analogical reasoning, etc.).The Qur’an levied a poll tax against the non-Muslims living under the Muslim government. The believers are commanded to “fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah has forbidden by His Messenger, and follow not the religion of truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.” Clearly in this case a minority religious community is charged a tax so that they are “brought low” and recognize their inferior status in society. In fact, this was the practice of Islamic Empires for centuries. Non-Muslim Jews and Christians were allowed to practice their faith, but they were not allowed to propagate their religion. This is blatant religious discrimination. However, discrimination against religious minorities began to dissipate during the twentieth century. The poll tax, for example, is no longer levied against Christians and Jews and they are slowly gaining a position on par with Muslims despite intermarriage laws (Mayer, 128). So here

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