Download Human Rights and Islam

Human Rights and Islam
Liz Martin
Maayan Vodovis
Zehra Sadaf
Matthew Davis
John Collins
History of Human Rights
Nuremburg War Crimes Trials 1945-1946
Prosecuted for crimes against humanity
United Nations: The preamble of the charter of the
UN “reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
December 10, 1948
International Bill of Human Rights: Completed
in 1966 and is composed of Universal Declaration,
Covenant of civil and political rights and Covenant of
economic, social and cultural rights.
International Bill of Human Rights
Problem with IBHR- it is a resolution and not a treaty.
Many
nations signed, but no nation is required to adhere to or enforce these
rights
Equality of rights without discrimination
Life, liberty, security of persons
Protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Recognition as a person before law AND equal protection of law
Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, expression, press,
assembly and association
Health care and social services
Education
Self determination
Definition of Human Rights
Legal vs. Moral rights
– Legal: claims, privileges, powers, immunities- any right protected by law
– Moral: any right claimed or justified by reference to some set of moral
rules
Two English definitions of the word ‘right’
– Right vs. Wrong
– Right as an entitlement.
Western Definition: Rights one has simply because one is
human. They are held by all humans- they are universal rights
Cultural Relativism
Normative Hegemony: One standard; makes
distinction between human rights and human dignity
Weak Cultural Relativism: One standard, but
concessions allowed for various interpretations
Strong Cultural Relativism: Cannot have one
standard of rights because cultures and values are too
varied.
Muslim Nations who signed IBHR
Afghanistan- 1946
Iran– 1945
Iraq- 1945
Lebanon- 1945
Sudan - 1956
Libya- 1945
Malaysia- 1957
Morocco- 1956
Pakistan- 1947
Syria- 1945
Should Muslim nations be held to Western definitions of Human
Rights, or should interpretations of cultures and values have more
significance when determining human rights?
If these nations signed the IBHR, should they then be held accountable
to same standards of rights as other nations?
Human Rights and Islam
In the Middle East
Human Development Index of
2001
Country
Life
Expectancy
at Birth (in
Adult
Literac
y Rate
GDP
per
capita
years)
(% age 15
and
(PPP US
$)
Human
Development
Index (HDI) value
above)
HDI
Rank
(Out of
175
Countries
)
Saudi
Arabia
71.9
77.1
13,300
0.769
73
Lebanon
73.3
86.5
4,170
0.752
83
Jordan
70.6
90.3
3,870
0.743
90
Syria
71.5
75.3
3,280
0.685
110
Egypt
68.3
56.1
3,520
0.648
120
EGYPT
Freedom of Expression:
–
–
Authors can be charged for writing books
that are deemed offensive to Islam.
Offensive language has arisen in cases
between Muslims and Christians (articles
160 and 161 in the Penal Code for
insulting Islam).
Prison and Court Sentencing:
–
Laws and Politics:
–
–
People have been suspected and
imprisoned for alleged memberships in
banned groups such as the al-Gama’a alIslamiyya (Islamic Group) and al-Gihad
(Holy Struggle).
Since 1967 emergency laws in Egypt have
given authorities extended powers to
arrest and detain suspects without trial for
prolonged periods.
• Civilian defendants can be sent to
court(s) where procedures have
been less than fair according to
international standards.
–
Security forces mistreated and tortured
prisoners. Some detainees died in custody
due to poor conditions, lack of medical
care, and in few cases due to torture.
• Some police officers have been
charged for the beating and deaths of
prisoners. Certain practices of
punishment have been banned from
prisons.
Egyptian courts have sentenced many
people to death. Most death sentences were
imposed for ordinary criminal offences.
Recent Report:
 Pleas for Egyptian President Mubarak to stop the deportation
of 645 people scheduled to return to a high death risk in Sudan.
 International law forbids the return of refugees to places of
persecution and requires states to ensure children not be
separated from their families.
 Demonstrators (refugees) protested for various grounds of
poor living conditions in Egypt and “lack of lasting solutions to
their plight.”
Saudi Arabia
“It is absurd to impose on an individual or a society rights that are
alien to its beliefs or principles”
–Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Freedom of Expression:
–
–
–
There is no independent press.
Newspapers and media are entirely
funded by the royal family.
There is a list of topics banned from
publication. Violations are punished by
prison time and fines.
There are several independent licensed
Internet service providers, but the
government seeks to monitor and restrict
Web access in the country.
Religious Freedom:
–
–
Punishment:
–
–
Capital Punishment has been applied for
crimes of murder, rape, armed robbery,
drug smuggling, sodomy and sorcery.
• Decapitation usually takes place in
public squares while blindfolded,
shackled, and tranquilized.
Courts still impose corporal punishment,
such as amputation for robbery, and
floggings for lesser crimes such as “sexual
deviance and drunkenness.”
Government actively restricts religious
freedom and practices (except Wahhabi
interpretation)
Officially, non-Muslims are free to worship
privately, in reality this is not always adhered
to.
• Religious minorities are harassed or
arrested for peaceful practice of their
faith.
Women in Saudi Society:
–
–
–
Discrimination is still prevalent in regards to
family, education, employment and the
justice system.
A modesty code of dress is imposed based on
religious law.
Still not allowed to drive/maintain a license.
Syria
Freedom of Expression
–
–
Freedom of expression, association, and assembly are limited in law and practice.
• Some minorities (such as Kurds) continue to be denied basic rights.
Local media and Internet access remain state controlled.
• However, levels of expressive freedom have begun to grow in small measures. Private
Internet cafes have been allowed to open in Damascus. And the Syrian
Telecommunications Establishment have blocked only Israeli materials and Syrian
opposition Web-sites.
Domestic Laws and Prison
–
–
There are long-standing emergency laws that do not allow for any civilian protection against
arbitrary arrest and torture.
Infamous Tadmor prison in Palmyran desert remains off-limits to all independent observers.
• There was a scandal in 1980 when 1100 unarmed prisoners were massacred in Tadmor.
International Issues
–
–
Many Syrians live in political exile abroad. Many of which have been arrested and forced to
leave because they carried forged passports. Syria does not allow Syrian exiles to obtain a
Syrian passport (making them stateless).
Many foreigners have been imprisoned in Syria. Syrian government has purposefully not
allowed their deportation. In the past, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority have
issued a general amnesty for all political prisoners.
How it relates to
Islam…
 The Middle East is a religious center in the World. For Christians, Jews and
Muslims. The city of Jerusalem exemplifies this concentrated and diverse religious
region.
 Most Middle Eastern (Islamic) countries derive some of their laws from religious
traditions or Islamic law (Sharia).
 Especially regarding:
• Laws towards Women (esp. in Saudi Arabia).
• Laws enforcing capital punishment (Hudud Crimes)
 Some laws are not directly linked to Islamic law, but are established to defend
Islamic religious practices, and or create an absolute Islamic society.
 Governments try and diminish the freedom of expression, so to impede antiIslam rhetoric
 Most of the other inhumane laws in these countries are due to despotic regimes.
 The Root: much of the law comes from ancient Arabic tradition, rather than
Islamic custom.
 Not all of the laws in these nations are agreed upon. There are many divisions in
Islam, some citizens support while others oppose these laws.
Human Rights Violations in Pakistan
Rights of Children
Children Accused of committing criminal
offenses are routinely tortured by police
Long periods of detention without trials
91% of the 2700 Juvenile in ’98 waited for
trials for months
Harsh and overcrowded facilities
Routinely subjected to various forms of
torture or ill-treatment
Lack of recreational opportunities
Contemporary Slavery
Mostly children and
many adults are denied
the right to negotiate
terms of employment
Harsh working
conditions with long
hours of work
Lack of proper tools
and training
Violence against women
Domestic violence towards women
Horrifying conditions of women’s
prison, lack of protection from
physical and sexual abuse
Hundreds of Bangladeshi women in
similar situation in Pakistani prisons
About 150 women being smuggled
in to the country for prostitutions of
other domestic servitude each month
Ms Mai was gang raped, allegedly on the orders of a
village council because of a misdemeanor attributed to
her younger brother.
Honor Killings
Honor killings occur when men kill their female relatives for activities in
which the female dishonors the family reputation for perceived misuse of
her sexuality
Islamic leaders and scholars condemn the practice and deny that it is based
on religious doctrine
They explain that it is a pre-Islamic, tribal custom stemming from society's
interest in keeping strict control over familial power structures but many
It has been reported in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel,
Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda and the United
Kingdom
According to the United Nations Population Fund estimates as many as
5000 females being killed each year
Malaysia & Indonesia
Human Rights Perspectives
Indonesia
Demographics
– Population ~238,500,000
– 88% Muslim
– Largest Muslim Majority Country
History
– Former Dutch Colony / Colonial Legacy
– Sukarno (1945-1967) and Suharto (1967-1998)
– Democracy?
Human Rights
Aceh and Papua
– Indigenous Minorities
– Muslim on Muslim Abuses
Freedom of Religion
Shar’ia Law
– Recently instituted in Aceh
– Only applies to Muslims
Malaysia
Demographics
– Population ~23,500,000
– 58% Malaysian, 24% Chinese
History
– Former British Colony / Colonial Legacy
– Federal Constitutional Monarchy
Human Rights
Ethno-Religious Discrimination
– Must be Muslim to be Malay
– Malay / Chinese Tensions
Freedom of Religion
– Conversion of Minors
– Apostasy
Shar’ia Law
Comparisons & Contrasts
Postcolonial Legacy
Shar’ia vs. Civil Law
Inherent Contradictions of Rights
The West & Islam
A human rights perspective
Human Rights Abuses
Specifically looking at abuses against
Muslims in non-Islamic states
For the sake of argument, we accept any
denial of religious or civil freedom as an
abuse of HR.
Questions to ask:
– At what points do security concerns override one’s individual
rights?
– At what point should religion of any type take a backseat to secular
national interests or freedoms.
United States
“Special interest” detainees
–
–
–
–
1,200 non-citizens held on suspicion of Al Qaeda connection.
Held under immigration laws
Secret court proceedings
“Unnecessarily restrictive conditions”
Guantanamo Bay detainees
– Geneva does not apply
– Hold as long as the U.S. wishes
– 2002 ruling: courts do not have jurisdiction to hear complaints
from “aliens held by the U.S. outside of sovereign territory”
Enemy Combatants
– No more designation of “Prisoner of War”
United States
The U.S. has taken a hardened approach in dealing with
Muslims suspected of international terror.
Questions:
 Is the secretive approach necessary?
 What of the anti-Geneva arguments? Are any of them
valid?
 Torture and “aggressive interrogation techniques” – is
there a difference?
 Culturally, can we differentiate between our treatment of
Muslims living in our country versus those with “enemy
combatant” status?
France
Headscarf legislation
– “containing the forces of Islamic theocracy by
outlawing the most innocuous manifestation of
Islamic anti-secularism”
– Ban of all public religious symbols in state schools –
ex: large crosses, Sikh turbans, Muslim headscarves
– Effective Sept. 2004: In five months, 39 Muslim girls
and 3 Sikh boys were expelled
France
France is obviously suffering blowback from it’s
colonial escapades in the early late 19th century.
Questions:
 Is supporting across the board secularism is French
public schools really a bad thing?
 Racial tensions between French nationals and Arab
immigrants are rising – what agency do immigrants have
in assimilating into their new homes?
 Can we consider this a human rights abuse?
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad
cartoons controversy began after
editorial cartoons depicting the Islamic
prophet Muhammad were published in
the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
on September 30, 2005. Danish Muslim
organizations staged protests in
response. As the controversy has grown,
some or all of the cartoons have been
reprinted in newspapers in more than fifty
other countries, leading to violent
protests, particularly in the Islamic world.
Denmark
Critics claim that the cartoons are culturally insulting, Islamophobic,
blasphemous, and intended to humiliate a marginalized Danish minority.
Supporters of the cartoons claim they illustrate an important issue and
their publication exercises the right of free speech. They also claim that
there are similar cartoons about other religions, arguing that Islam and its
followers have not been targeted in a discriminatory way.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has described the
controversy as Denmark's worst international crisis since World War II.
Denmark
Again we have a clash of civilizations in which one
group finds it’s right to religion being harassed, if
not abused, by another’s right to free speech.
Is being offended a violation of your human rights?
Should the U.N. pass a resolution banning attacks on religious beliefs?
What is more important, freedom of religion or freedom of speech?
Do publishers of the cartoons in Jordan and Yemen deserve to be
arrested?
Is Malaysia correct in declaring it a legal offense to “publish, product,
import, circulate, or possess” the cartoons?
The cartoon controversy as well as “human rights abuses” against
Muslims in France and the United States, should be, “understood
against the backdrop of rising Western prejudice and suspicion
against Muslims, and an associated sense of persecution among
Muslims in many parts of the world.”
The United States needs to temper it’s treatment of international
prisoners, ensuring all necessary accommodations are made for
proper religious worship.
Additionally, the U.S. should move along tribunals, commissions,
and trials of detainees that should have been held long ago. For
lack of a better term, it’s time to “put up or shut up.”
For all of our perceived misdeeds, the U.S. possesses a much
more egalitarian mindset than that of France and Denmark. Our
history as a “melting pot” helps us avert many of the violent
cultural clashes that have occurred in Europe.
France’s problems are complex and result
from a French and Arab populace that
refuses to assimilate with each other.
France
Racism and xenophobia abound.
The country must find ways to solve
these deep cultural rifts, and simply
banning religious headgear will not do
it.
The country must decide whether
modernity and secularism will reign
in public society, or will religion be
allowed a place as well.
Denmark’s tribulations are, like France’s,
symptoms of a larger cultural
problem in the country.
However, as Human Rights Watch points
out, we can “reject the disrespectful
and prejudiced attitudes reflected in the
cartoons, but affirm that, under the
right of freedom of expression,
governments are not entitled to
suppress speech simply because it is
offensive or disrespectful of religion.”
Denmark
The much larger human rights
abuse would be to censor the
cartoons or anything else that
might offend Muslims.