Contemporary Muslims and Human Right Discourse: A Critical Assessment

Contemporary Muslims and Human Right Discourse: A Critical Assessment

Author: Umar Ahmd Kasule

Publisher: IIUMPress

ISBN: 978-983-3855-84-1

Pages: 322 pp

Year: 2009

Weight: 0.7kg

Price: RM50.00

This book is amajor departure from what many may regard as the general trend of studies byMuslim on the human rights tradition. Whereas most authors on the subjectardently argue the case for human rights by tracing it from the traditionalIslamic religious sources, this study poses an antithesis to that trend. Thepoint of departure in this work is found in its depth investigation andcritique of the theoretical foundations of the human rights tradition. Theauthor argues that the true meaning of human rights is not found in thedeclarations or lists of rights issued by international organizations such asthe United Nations or the Organization of African Union (now defunct) or theCairo Declaration. Instead the real meaning of the human rights values shouldbe found in the philosophical thought of its original authors, the Westernthinkers, as well as in their common but unique experience in the historicalprocess vis-à-vis the rest of humanity especially in the orient, where theIslamic civilization thrives to this day.