Contemporary Muslims and Human Right Discourse: A Critical Assessment

Author: Umar Ahmd Kasule

Publisher: IIUM Press

ISBN: 978-983-3855-84-1

Pages: 322 pp

Year: 2009

Weight: 0.7kg

Price: RM50.00

This book is a major departure from what many may regard as the general trend of studies by Muslim on the human rights tradition. Whereas most authors on the subject ardently argue the case for human rights by tracing it from the traditional Islamic religious sources, this study poses an antithesis to that trend. The point of departure in this work is found in its depth investigation and critique of the theoretical foundations of the human rights tradition. The author argues that the true meaning of human rights is not found in the declarations or lists of rights issued by international organizations such as the United Nations or the Organization of African Union (now defunct) or the Cairo Declaration. Instead the real meaning of the human rights values should be found in the philosophical thought of its original authors, the Western thinkers, as well as in their common but unique experience in the historical process vis-à-vis the rest of humanity especially in the orient, where the Islamic civilization thrives to this day.