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there is a visible shift away from a Qur’anic mandate (i.e. tax on non-Muslims) due to a changed political climate. This is evidence of the potential for further reconciliation. In addition to religious discrimination, the Qur’an also discriminates on grounds of sex. The Qur’an provides certain rights for women, but they are notably different from those given to men. The implication of these rulings is that women are secondary to men. Regarding inheritance laws the Qur’an states, “unto the male is the equivalent of the share of two females.” Also, for business contracts it is necessary to reduce the agreement to writing and have it witnessed by two men. If it is not possible to get two male witnesses, then one male and two women are required as substitutes. Why is the Qur’an so concerned with the sex of the inheritors or the witnesses of a business contract? Most traditional commentators will insist that the women are not inferior to men. However, men and women are endowed with different strengths and weaknesses in accordance with their different roles in society. The woman’s most important role is as a mother and as such she does not require the extensive education of a man (Rouner, 90). Therefore, her assumed inexperience in business dealings is why two women are substituted for one man. Also, the man is responsible for supporting the family so he is allotted more money from the inheritance than the woman. The woman, as the benefactor of her husband’s support does not require the same amount as her male co-inheritor. Unfortunately, this view does not take into consideration single men and women who neither support families nor receive support from families. How, then, can this verse be brought into alignment with the UDHR? Again, this is a situation where social and historical context would have to be summoned to nullify the Qur’anic law. If the educational structure of society is such that women receive an equal education to men, then they should be just as capable of witnessing a business contract as men. If both the man and the woman of the house work to support the family, then perhaps they both require an equal share of the inheritance. If however the social structure has not changed dramatically from the time of revelation, as is the case in a number of Muslim countries, then a reform of these laws becomes more difficult because it requires complete social transformation. Aside from discrimination, there is the issue of slavery. Article four of the UDHR declares “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Slavery is no longer legal in Muslim countries due to the strong anti-slavery campaign of the nineteenth century. However, partly because the Qur’an allows for the practice of slavery, Muslim countries fought hard to maintain their right to own slaves. Usually, when the Qur’an speaks of slaves it speaks of freeing them. The emancipation of a slave is viewed as a meritorious act. For example, the Qur’an teaches that “righteousness is to set slaves free.” At the same time, it does not condemn the practice of slavery altogether. The Qur’an urges the believers to “show kindness unto (the slaves) whom your right hands possess” (4:36). Therefore, slavery is allowable according to Qur’anic law, yet Islamic law has already conformed to International law and verses dealing with slaves are generally considered no longer applicable to modern society (Mayer, 79). Still this episode does not reveal much light on the issue of reconciliation because this reconciliation is perhaps only possible because slavery is allowed and not commanded.

The Qur’an does have verses concerning the punishment of certain criminals that are deemed violations of article five of the UDHR, which states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Thieves have their hand cut off as punishment for their crime . Adulterers are subjected to a public lashing according to the Qur’anic law . The verse about adultery even goes on to add “and let not pity for the twain withhold you from obedience to God.” This implies that the Qur’an recognizes that the punishment is harsh, but it deems this harshness necessary to combat the stated offenses. How would one go about re-interpreting these verses that are explicit, yet in direct contradiction to the UDHR? These verses do not seem to leave much room for the typical contextual argument. Now, where do the Qur’an and the UDHR directly coincide? This is a tricky issue. The points of convergence between the Qur’anic verses and the UDHR articles is often conditional. Therefore, it can only be considered a potential point of convergence. This will be demonstrated later. The two key articles from the UDHR for this discussion are as follows:Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.These articles are concerned with two things: freedom of religion, and the primordial value of each human being. A widely quoted verse in support of freedom of religion states “there is no compulsion in religion.” Now as previously mentioned this verse is only potentially in accordance with the UDHR. That is because it is vague enough that it can be interpreted in a manner making it irrelevant to a discourse about equal rights for religious minorities. In other words, the right not to be forced into a religion does not mean that the religion of one’s choice will be treated on