Islam and Human Rights

Contents: Introduction; Part I Islam Between Universalism and Secularism: What do we mean by universal?; Islamic law, international relations and human rights: challenge and response; A kinder, gentler Islam?; Re-affirming secularism for Islamic societies; Islam and human rights: beyond the universality debate. Part II Islam and Human Rights in the Muslim World: Human rights in the Muslim world: socio-political conditions and scriptural imperatives; Civil rights in the Islamic constitutional traditions: shared ideals and divergent regimes; Human rights in the Arab world: a regional perspective; Human rights and Islamic identity in France and Uzbekistan: mediation of the local and global; 'The best of times' and 'the worst of times': human agency and human rights in Islamic societies. Part III Some Topical Issues in Islam and Human Rights Discourse: The Islamic law of apostasy and its modern applicability: a case from the Sudan; Religious minorities under Islamic law and the limits of cultural relativism; The rights of women and international law in the Muslim context; The contingent universality of human rights: the case of freedom of expression in African and Islamic contexts; Why should Muslims abandon jihad? Human rights and the future of international law. Part IV Conclusion: A Theory of Interdependence: The interdependence of religion, secularism, and human rights: prospects for Islamic societies; Name index