The Rights of God: Islam, Human Rights, and Comparative Ethics

by Irene Oh

Overview

Promoting Islam as a defender of human rights is laden with difficulties. Advocates of human rights will readily point out numerous humanitarian failures carried out in the name of Islam. In The Rights of God, Irene Oh looks at human rights and Islam as a religious issue rather than a political or legal one and draws on three revered Islamic scholars to offer a broad range of perspectives that challenge our assumptions about the role of religion in human rights.

The theoretical shift from the conception of morality based in natural duty and law to one of rights has created tensions that hinder a fruitful exchange between human rights theorists and religious thinkers. Does the static identification of human rights with lists of specific rights, such as those found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, make sense given the cultural, historical, and religious diversity of the societies in which these rights are to be respected and implemented? In examining human rights issues of the contemporary Islamic world, Oh illustrates how the value of religious scholarship cannot be overestimated.

Oh analyzes the commentaries of Abul A'la Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, and Abdolkarim Soroush—all prominent and often controversial Islamic thinkers—on the topics of political participation, religious toleration, and freedom of conscience. While Maududi and Qutb represent traditional Islam, and Soroush a more reform and Western-friendly approach, all three contend that Islam is indeed capable of accommodating and advocating human rights.

Whereas disentangling politics and culture from religion is never easy, Oh shows that the attempt must be made in order to understand and overcome the historical obstacles that prevent genuine dialogue from taking place across religious and cultural boundaries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589014633
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2007
Series:	Advancing Human Rights series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	168
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Irene Oh is director of the peace studies program and assistant professor in the department of religion at George Washington University. She is the author of The Rights of God: Islam, Human Rights, and Comparative Ethics.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Defining Dialogue

1 Conversations about Human Rights and Islam

2 Maududi, Qutb, and Soroush: Humanity and History

3 Envisioning Islamic Democracies

4 The Free Conscience: "No Compulsion in Religion"

5 Toleration . . . and Its Limits

Conclusion: Advancing Human Rights Dialogue

Notes

Glossary of Foreign Words and Phrases

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Sohail Hashmi

An important addition to the literature on comparative religious ethics and on Islam and human rights.

From the Publisher

"An important addition to the literature on comparative religious ethics and on Islam and human rights."—Sohail Hashmi, Mount Holyoke College

Editorial Reviews

An important addition to the literature on comparative religious ethics and on Islam and human rights.

Sohail Hashmi