Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights

[JoeyKnothead]

1) Is the UIDHR trying to usurp the UN's Declarations?
2) Is the UIDHR discriminatory towards 'outsiders'?

I say yes to both, and offer:

Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, by joeyknuccione
From the site here:
Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights

This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and instruction to those who fear God.
(Al Qur'an, Al-Imran 3:138)

Right off the bat we get an assumption of God's existence, with no proof given for the assertion.

Islam gave to mankind an ideal code of human rights fourteen centuries ago.

I find much in Islam that I disagree with, in its codes, and its practices. Particularly its treatment of women.

Human rights in Islam are firmly rooted in the belief that God, and God alone, is the Law Giver and the Source of all human rights. Due to their Divine origin, no ruler, government, assembly or authority can curtail or violate in any way the human rights conferred by God, nor can they be surrendered.

By what proofs can we know that God alone is the 'Law Giver'?

The Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights is based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah and has been compiled by eminent Muslim scholars, jurists and representatives of Islamic movements and thought. May God reward them all for their efforts and guide us along the right path.

By not including any other religious leaders or opinions, no other philosophers, scholars, or organizations have been consulted. As such this declaration should be seen only as an Islamic interpretation, beholden on to Islam people.

WHEREAS Allah (God) has given mankind through His revelations in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of His Blessed Prophet Muhammad an abiding legal and moral framework within which to establish and regulate human institutions and relationships;

How are we to know the God of Islam is the God we should be worshipping? Of the many gods found in history, how are we to know this one is the only one, or the most important one.

Therefore we, as Muslims, who believe
f) that by the terms of our primeval covenant with God our duties and obligations have priority over our rights, and that each one of us is under a bounden duty to spread the teachings of Islam by word, deed, and indeed in all gentle ways, and to make them effective not only in our individual lives but also in the society around us;

Duties to spread the unsupported claims of Islam should never be seen to trump the rights of those who disagree. This kind of language is seen by this observer as supporting suppress of my rights to believe as I so choose.

g) in our obligation to establish an Islamic order:
i) wherein all human beings shall be equal and none shall enjoy a privilege or suffer a disadvantage or discrimination by reason of race, colour, sex, origin or language

Notice this does not mention the RIGHT to believe in any other religion.

ix) wherein all public affairs shall be determined and conducted, and the authority to administer them shall be exercised after mutual consultation (Shura) between the believers qualified to contribute to a decision which would accord well with the Law and the public good

Non-believers need not apply. You're voice will not be recognized, nor your input accepted.

(under "II Right to Freedom")
b) Every individual and every people has the inalienable right to freedom in all its forms physical, cultural, economic and political...

Again, the absence of any reference to religious or nonreligious beleifs is quite telling, and should scare all who do not believe in Islam.

(under "III Right to Equality and Prohibition Against Impermissible Discrimination")
c ) No person shall be denied the opportunity to work or be discriminated against in any manner or exposed to greater physical risk by reason of religious belief, colour, race, origin, sex or language.

Okay, so now we seem to have a right to work regardless of religious belief, but I fear this may not extend to my right to freedom as described above. Where the religious reference is included here, what can be said of it being omitted above?

(under "IV Right to Justice")(my bolding for emphasis)
b) Every person has not only the right but also the obligation to protest against injustice; to recourse to remedies provided by the Law in respect of any unwarranted personal injury or loss; to self-defence against any charges that are preferred against him and to obtain fair adjudication before an independent judicial tribunal in any dispute with public authorities or any other person.

I much prefer a jury of my peers thank you, I don't for a minute believe in the independence of a tribunal that has been put together by the religious/political structure.

e) It is the right and duty of every Muslim to refuse to obey any command which is contrary to the Law, no matter by whom it may be issued.

What can be assumed by omitting all other beliefs under this statute? Assume the worst and how could you be thought wrong?

VIII Right to Protection of Honour and Reputation
Every person has the right to protect his honour and reputation against calumnies, groundless charges or deliberate attempts at defamation and blackmail.

Is this the one that causes folks to commit 'honor killings' and escape serious punishment? While it sounds good on its surface, in and Islamic context I fear it would be used as a blasphemy law.

b) Al Masjid Al Haram (the sacred house of Allah) in Mecca is a sanctuary for all Muslims.

Where might others find their sanctuary?

XII Right to Freedom of Belief, Thought and Speech

a) Every person has the right to express his thoughts and beliefs so long as he remains within the limits prescribed by the Law. No one, however, is entitled to disseminate falsehood or to circulate reports which may outrage public decency, or to indulge in slander, innuendo or to cast defamatory aspersions on other persons.

What of those who would argue the prophet Muhammad was a pedophile? What of those who would argue Islam is a violent belief? Vague wording scares me.

e) No one shall hold in contempt or ridicule the religious beliefs of others or incite public hostility against them; respect for the religious feelings of others is obligatory on all Muslims.

Where beliefs can be seen as ridiculous, they should be liable to the claim. I personally find some religious beliefs to be somewhat ridiculous, and as such feel I should be able to claim such. Silencing others is never a good thing. Let the claimants claim, and by the merits of their claims let's see their validity.

XIII Right to Freedom of Religion
Every person has the right to freedom of conscience and worship in accordance with his religious beliefs.

Since all who are not Muslim are deemed infedels, I question how closely this edict would be followed.

XXIII Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence

a) In view of the fact that the World of Islam is veritably Ummah Islamia, every Muslim shall have the right to freely move in and out of any Muslim country.

b) No one shall be forced to leave the country of his residence, or be arbitrarily deported therefrom without recourse to due process of Law.

Where this section omits any other groups, I fear it could be read to disclude
any other group. When these kinds of laws specifically mention one group, while omitting others, I encourage all to be suspect.

(under "Explanatory Notes")
b) the term 'Law' denotes the Shari'ah, i.e. the totality of ordinances derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah and any other laws that are deduced from these two sources by methods considered valid in Islamic jurisprudence.

At least they admit they are trying to enforce Shari'ah Law. While these declarations are fine for Muslims, I fear they are trying to usurp the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Where I see these Islamic declarations, I also see a competing declaration, and I urge all to understand and as best as possible follow the UN's version.

"The Arabic text of this Declaration is the original"

Regardless of where you stand on Islam as a code, the following illustrates Islam as a practice:
Shari'ah Law in Practice

I would encourage all who can translate the Arabic to do so, because it has been reported this English version has been softened.

[byofrcs]

1) Is the UIDHR trying to usurp the UN's Declarations?
2) Is the UIDHR discriminatory towards 'outsiders'?

I say yes to both, and offer:
.......

Of course it is Yes to both.

It says "Islam gave to mankind an ideal code of human rights fourteen centuries ago. " and like Christianity, it's failed miserably in creating anything like a progressive and stable society in those 1400 years.

And, in the 27 years since that document date Islamic countries have been pillars of stability and virtue only if stability was measured by war and virtue was made of blood and ashes.

If it wasn't for the Oil, Islam would be just one minor faith like the Bahai (which I must add many an Islamic has expressed utter hatred for).

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

By what proofs can we know that God alone is the 'Law Giver'?

By the words of a human ‘Arab whose child bride even ‘jokingly’ acknowledged his revelations seemed to have such an oh so conveniently positive effect on himself .

Notice this does not mention the RIGHT to believe in any other religion.

Although muslims do claim people have this right, and even condescendingly refer to Jews and Christians as ‘People of the Book’, Islam does not allow any such thing. To do so would be tantamount to acknowledging the validity of other religions as compared to Islam.

Okay, so now we seem to have a right to work regardless of religious belief, but I fear this may not extend to my right to freedom as described above.

I believe it more a safeguard to allow muslims to retain jobs and not have potential employers turn them down for jobs because they intend to take time out during the day to pray.

e) It is the right and duty of every Muslim to refuse to obey any command which is contrary to the Law, no matter by whom it may be issued.

In other words, if anyone asks you to contravene Islam then the ‘divine law’ should take precedence over inferior laws of whatever governing nation you reside in. I admit this falls foul of the Fallacy of the Slippery Slope, but next stop Shariah Law followed by Hudood Penalties, etc.

What of those who would argue the prophet Muhammad was a pedophile? What of those who would argue Islam is a violent belief? Vague wording scares me.

And so it should. You see, critical research into the Qur’an and Islam on a par with the kind of work done with the Bible, Judaism and Christianity, will no doubt fall under this banner of ‘disseminating false information’ because it goes against or challenges what muslims believe. And since so much of their identity is bound up in their notion of Islam as right you can view it as a challenge to their own individual identity. Hence why so many muslims take things so personally.

e) No one shall hold in contempt or ridicule the religious beliefs of others or incite public hostility against them; respect for the religious feelings of others is obligatory on all Muslims.

Where beliefs can be seen as ridiculous, they should be liable to the claim. I personally find some religious beliefs to be somewhat ridiculous, and as such feel I should be able to claim such. Silencing others is never a good thing. Let the claimants claim, and by the merits of their claims let's see their validity.

I pretty much side with Professor AC Grayling when he says: “It is time to reverse the prevailing notion that religious commitment is intrinsically deserving of respect, and that it should be handled with kid gloves and protected by custom and in some cases law against criticism and ridicule.� One of my favourite lines from his article: “to believe something in the face of evidence and against reason - to believe something by faith - is ignoble, irresponsible and ignorant, and merits the opposite of respect. It is time to say so.�

[JoeyKnothead]

It's good to see a former member of the Islamic community speak out against it. There's nothing inherently dangerous in religious belief, but when combined with other factors Islam seems to create more than its fair share of dangerous fundies.

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

Thanks for saying that!

Well, Islâm is inherently a political religion. Time and life amongst people who ascribe to separation of church and state has rendered it secular amongst a lot of Western muslims, but it still remains a political religion. Most of the punishments and sins in Islâm don’t include things like murder and rape, but simply disagreeing with what Muhammad said and believed. The ultimate corollary being apostasy — a ‘sin’ which merits death!

[JoeyKnothead]

Thanks for saying that!

Well, Islâm is inherently a political religion. Time and life amongst people who ascribe to separation of church and state has rendered it secular amongst a lot of Western muslims, but it still remains a political religion. Most of the punishments and sins in Islâm don’t include things like murder and rape, but simply disagreeing with what Muhammad said and believed. The ultimate corollary being apostasy — a ‘sin’ which merits death!

Forgive me if this is rude, but how do you feel about your position? Are you considered (or do you consider yourself) an apostate, and do you fear the repercussions?

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

I try not to think of myself as an apostate (though technically I am) because I want to live my life as a person, not in the shadow of Islam. Of course, I do have various hangups that stem from Islam (such as still feeling physically nauseous when even thinking about eating pig meat, though alcohol has no such effect on me).

I do fear the repercussions, though I know someone (but I’ve never met him) who abandoned Islam and has even told his immediate family, and openly speaks about his beliefs. I can’t emulate his example at the moment though.

I wrote a piece on my blog about my feelings regarding apostasy and Islam:

A Treatise Against the Punishment and Execution of Apostates

[JoeyKnothead]

I read the treatise, and I gotta say I agree wholeheartedly. I put your blog in my weekly read, look forward to seeing more of it.

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

Thanks! I haven’t updated it in quite a while. I should really stop being so slack…

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

Therefore we, as Muslims who believe… d) that rationality by itself without the light of revelation from God can neither be a sure guide in the affairs of mankind nor provide spiritual nourishment to the human soul, and, knowing that the teachings of Islam represent the quintessence of Divine guidance in its final and perfect form, feel duty-bound to remind man of the high status and dignity bestowed on him by God;

e) in inviting all mankind to the message of Islam;

f) that by the terms of our primeval covenant with God our duties and obligations have priority over our rights, and that each one of us is under a bounden duty to spread the teachings of Islam by word, deed, and indeed in all gentle ways, and to make them effective not only in our individual lives but also in the society around us;

All this lays out a mandate for proselytisation by muslims. Note the very final line I have quoted: “make them effective not only in our individual lives but also in the society around us� (emphasis my own). This sounds to me like a clear demonstration of the political nature of Islâm, seeking to establish its tenets in whatever society muslims reside.

IV Right to Justice

a) Every person has the right to be treated in accordance with the Law, and only in accordance with the Law.

It doesn’t make this clear, but the wording leads me to wonder whether by ‘the Law’ it refers solely to Islâmic Law. I suspect so. Which, of course, means shariah law (mostly governing harmless aspects of life, but including ridiculous rulings such as women not having permission to attend funerals), and hudood penalties (amputation for theft, stonings for adultery, etc).

X Rights of Minorities

a) The Qur'anic principle "There is no compulsion in religion" shall govern the religious rights of non-Muslim minorities.

b) In a Muslim country religious minorities shall have the choice to be governed in respect of their civil and personal matters by Islamic Law, or by their own laws.

This sounds extremely sinister to me. Firstly, the ‘no compulsion in religion’ doesn’t apply to ex–muslims who, by virtue of execution for apostasy, end up compelled to remain in Islâm if only for show. Secondly, the verse itself, taken in context of the time of ‘revelation’, prevents non–muslims from forcing muslims to abandon their own religion and NOT the other way around.

The section labelled b) carries, for me, the sinister undertones. As a minority Jew in a muslim country, for example, you either have Islâmic law govern you or your own religious laws. Note the lack of reference to laws governing any particular secular country. To me this suggests the sort of application of law which led to the massacre of the Banu Qurayzah by Muhammad and his cohorts. Muhammad had S‘ad deliver the verdict, which he did so with typical Old Testament viciousness.

Now, despite the fact that Jews have given up all of those brutal punishments for ‘crimes’ like fornication or not doing what your parents tell you, I suspect ‘their own laws’ has exactly that OT cruelty in mind. So if you live as a Jew in a muslim country and you commit adultery you can either submit to the muslim law of getting stoned to death, or the old (but abandoned) Jewish law of… getting stoned to death. Nice .