The Islamic Concept of Human Rights: An Attempt to Combine Sharia with Universal Standards

Abstract

The Islamic concept of human rights is a peculiar response to their secular interpretations, primarily expressed in international legal documents, and is designed to justify the admissibility of human rights, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the requirements of the Sharia. These ideas are clearly expressed in Islamic declarations of human rights. Although Islamic jurists claim that they merely supplement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, taking into account the religious and cultural specifics of Muslim countries, the coincidence of the wording of the rights proclaimed should not mislead, as it hides differences at the level of principled approaches. Human rights in Islam are considered not only as derived from the will of Allah, to which a Muslim is fully subordinated, but also as called to fulfill the “Islamic function”, i.e. their realization is allowed only if it is aimed at preserving and strengthening the foundations of Islam.