AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON HUMANTY & HUMAN RIGHTS IN RELIGIOUS TEXTS AND ITS GENESIS AND COMPATIBLITY TODAY: AN ANALYSIS

Abstract

What constitutes human rights and a drawing common understanding of these rights and thereby ensuring that these are universally granted to every member of society have been the subject of historic documents such as The Magna Carta ,The French Declaration of the Rights of Man, The American Bill of Rights, and The Geneva Convention. What is often overlooked, however, is that these questions have also been addressed by various religious traditions. The Islamic model of human rights in particular is striking in its rigor, its vision and its relevance to modern times. Is Islam compatible with human rights? This question has been in recent years the focus of attention of numerous human rights scholars, who have produced varying answers and advanced conflicting views.. Islam’s contribution to human rights can be appreciated when compared against the backdrop of world history as well as the realities of modern times. Social, racial, gender, and religious inequities have always existed. This paper while considering the question of human rights and Islam, will examine the distinction between textually prescribed rights, and their misapplication and misinterpretation by imperfect human beings. The present paper examines the following issues: Can the application of the Sharia be compatible with human rights law or can Sharia-compliant States ever find compatibility with evolving norms of international human rights.