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Zaid Shakir on Islam and the UDHR |
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Written by Zaid Shakir
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Monday, 31 October 2005 |
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Page 4 of 4
Islam has
much to contribute in advancing the theory and application of human
rights in the west. In Islam and Human Rights, Ann Elizabeth Mayer,
whose work has been previously cited,22 acknowledges,
"…the Islamic heritage comprises rationalist and humanistic currents and
that it is replete with values that complement modern human rights such
as concern for human welfare, justice, tolerance, and equalitarianism.
These could provide the basis for constructing a viable synthesis of
Islamic principles and international human rights…"23
Perhaps the greatest challenge before us in this regard is successfully
identifying those rationalist and humanitarian “currents” and riding
them to a new, more enlightened shore. Doing this will require, among
other things, a bold, but mature assessment of the proper relationship
between creed and action in the social and political realms. A serious
attempt to engage in a rational application of legal principles to
contemporary social and political problems in no way implies adopting
the methodology of the Mu’tazila, medieval Muslim legal and theological
rationalists. Using rationality as the standard to assess the veracity
of revelation, and using rationality as the basis for discovering
meaningful Islamic solutions to pressing social or political problems,
in areas where revelation provides no articulated guidance constitute
two entirely different projects.
That being said, our
attempts at solving novel contemporary socio-political problems must be
guided by well-defined methodologies. This will help to ensure that we
do not succumb to the tremendous appeal of modern American
anthropomorphism, our tendency to define God’s religion based on our
reality, as opposed to using God’s religion to help redefine our
reality. We could hasten to adopt modern methodologies to attempt to
“deconstruct” Islam, as easily as we could proclaim that God is dead.
We would be the only losers in such folly.
Appropriate methodologies have been expounded
on by Muslim scholars of jurisprudential principles, and those who have
assessed the rulings they inform in light of the great overarching
objectives of Islamic law. These scholars include the likes of Imam
al-Shatibi, author of the insightful work, al-Muwafaqat, Imam
‘Izz al-Din bin ‘Abd al-Salam, author of Qawa’id al-Ahkam, and
many others. These writings are part of a rich heritage of scholarship
and thought, which allowed Muslims to adequately respond to a
succession of civilizational challenges throughout our long history. If
we are able to master that rich heritage, and use the best of it to
address the burning issues of our day, we will be able to meaningfully
discuss human rights, and the full array of issues that currently vex
and perplex ourselves and others.
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