Journal of Comparative Law

Journal of Comparative Law

Muslim States and International Human Rights Law: Contributions and Controversies

Document Type : Scientific Paper

Author
Mohammad Hossein Mozaffari
Graduated from the Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University
Abstract
In  recent decades, some Muslim states and their political leaders made critical remarks about human rights norms. They claimed that Human rights instruments were adopted without the participation of Muslim States and therefore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be revised and alternative declarations must be devised that are fully compatible with Islamic Sharia as well as their cultural traditions. In reaction, WesternStates and scholars asserted that Muslim States contributed in the formation of human rights system and now they make recourse to Islamic Sharia as an excuse to deprive Muslim societies of human rights standards.
The author seeks to show that during six decades since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Muslim States did not remain in the same position as alleged by competing theories. Although Muslim States were not involved in the codification and adoption of basic human rights instruments, the situation has drastically changed. It is argued that Muslim States have played a significant role in the development of Human Rights discourse, despite the fact that they were not notably involved in the codification and formation of human rights system
Keywords
Human Rights
Muslim States
Muslim World
Islamic Human Rights
International Human Rights Law
Organization of Islamic Conference

منابع

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اسناد

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Journal of Comparative Law
Volume 0, Issue 15 - Serial Number 70
November 2008
Pages 95-112