Islam & Human Rights: A Conversation

In light of rampant globalisation and intolerance of cultural particularities, Abdullah Bin Bayyah outlines the Islamic view of human rights in comparison with the Western position elucidated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this short but detailed book, bin Bayyah expounds the meaning of human rights in Islam based on the Islamic Sacred Law. He looks to the past, utilizing examples from the time of the Prophet to prove the reality of equality, and looks to the present day as well. Islam & Human Rights: A Conversation is a conversation on freedom, women's rights and consultation (shura) and democracy. In the latter part of the book, bin Bayyah speaks to how Islamic criminal legislation protects the rights of individuals and groups, and compares the evolution of human rights in the West and in Islam. Especially interested in relativism and universalism in human rights, bin Bayyah asks: should civilisational diversity and the right of cultural difference affect human rights? In an exploration of this question, he delineates the bases for disagreement and illustrates the stakes using the texts of a few declarations from Muslim-majority countries.