Islam and Human Rights

The relationship between Islam and human rights forms an important aspect of contemporary international human rights discourse. Current international events and the increasing public role of Islam in modern Muslim states have made the subject more relevant than ever. Many international rights courses around the world now cover issues relating to Islam and human rights. The importance of the subject as a specific theme in general human rights discourse is portrayed by the plethora of literature currently available on its different aspects. Whether we agree or disagree with his discourse, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im is one of the leading scholars and contributors on the subject. His contributions on the subject span more than three decades during which he has engaged with almost every topical issue on the subject. W. Twining has described An-Na’im as one of the non-Western jurists from “the South” ‘who have made substantial contributions to the theory and practice of human rights’ generally (“Human Rights: Southern Voices; Frances Deng, Abdullahi An-Na’im, Yash Ghai and Upendra Baxi” Law, Social Justice & Global Development Journal) 1 (2007).