Human Rights In Muslim-majority Countries
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Human rights in Muslim-majority countries have been a subject of controversy for many decades.
International non-governmental organization An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. INGOs can admit members affiliated t ...
s (INGOs) such as
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
(AI) and
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
(HRW) consistently find
human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
in Muslim-majority countries. Amongst the human rights issues that are frequently under the spotlight are
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
,
Workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, ...
, the right to consensual sex outside of marriage,
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
and political opinion. The issue of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
is also the subject of fierce debate. When the United Nations adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
(UDHR) in 1948, Saudi Arabia refused to sign it as they were of the view that
sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...
had already set out the rights of men and women, and that to sign the UDHR would be unnecessary. The adoption of the UDHR started a debate on human rights in the Islamic world. Following years of deliberation, the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...
(OIC) adopted the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam.


Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam

The CDHR was signed by member states of the OIC in 1990 at the 19th Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Cairo, Egypt. It was seen as the answer to the UDHR. In fact, the CDHR was "patterned after the UN-sponsored UDHR of 1948". The object of the CDHR was to "serve as a guide for member states on human rights issues." CDHR translated the Qur'anic teachings as follows: "All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations. True religion is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human integrity." On top of references to the Qur'an, the CDHR also referenced prophetic teachings and Islamic legal tradition. While the CDHR can be seen as a significant human rights milestone for Muslim-majority countries, Western commentators have been critical of it. For one, it is a heavily qualified document. The CDHR is pre-empted by shariah law – "all rights and freedoms stipulated n the Cairo Declarationare subject to Islamic Shari'ah." In turn, though member countries appear to follow shariah law, these laws seem to be ignored altogether when it comes to " epressingtheir citizens using torture, and imprisonment without trial and disappearance." Abdullah al-Ahsan describes this as the Machiavellian attempt which is "turning out to be catastrophic in the Muslim world."


Individual countries


Bahrain

The Kingdom of
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
has been addressed by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
regarding its human rights records several times in the past. After the last dialogue between EU and Bahrain held on 7 November 2019, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights conducted an early 2021 dialogue with Bahrain raising the issue of prison torture, repression of freedom of expression and association, and arbitrary detentions of Hassan Mushaima, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, and Abduljalil al-Singace. The EU aimed at reversing the stated issues in early 2021 scheduled human rights dialogue with Bahrain.


Malaysia


Indonesia


Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been under the human rights spotlight for a number of decades, receiving increased attention from the early 1990s onwards. Much of the period between the 1940s to 1980s was characterized by Saudi Arabia's perceived passivity on the issue as well as its refusal to sign the UDHR. The period thereafter has seen a significant uptake on the matter. It all began with Saudi Arabia's handling of the Second Gulf War in 1991, which created much unhappiness and opposition amongst its citizens. Thereafter, a group of Saudi Arabian citizens attempted to establish a non-governmental human rights organization called the Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights ("CDLR"). Within weeks of its formation, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested many of its members and supporters. Following the release of its main founder and president Almasari, the committee was reformed in London where it received attention from human rights organisations worldwide. CDLR's work shed much-needed light on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia that was previously clouded in secrecy. The events which have followed since the early 1990s such as the end of the Cold War, the Gulf War and the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America, have further impacted the issue of human rights in Saudi Arabia, more so than any other country. Since these events, Saudi Arabia has steadily opened itself up to scrutiny by international agencies; they have also participated and engaged the human rights front more actively. The country has allowed visits from UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups. Saudi Arabia has also joined international human rights legal agreements, which means that the country is legally subject to
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discr ...
(CERD), the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...
(CEDAW), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...
(CRC). While some have lauded the progress made, others have remained highly critical of the country. In a 2013-human rights review of Saudi Arabia by CountryWatch, it is said that Saudi Arabia has a "poor record of human rights" with the country's law "not rovidingfor the protection of many basic rights".Youngblood-Coleman, Denise. (2013). Country Review: Saudi Arabia at page 54. The report goes on to detail the many shortcomings in the country such as corruption, lack of transparency, the presence of corporal punishments and the lack of separation between the three branches of the government (i.e. judicial, executive and legislative). By 2017, Saudi Arabian authorities had intensified their efforts in cracking down against human rights activists. Many activists, including one who provided information to
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, have been detained or appeared in court for their work, an indication that Saudi Arabian authorities plan to continue their crackdown on peaceful opposition. Human rights activists disappear, are prosecuted, jailed, or forced into exile.


Pakistan

The human rights situation in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
is generally regarded as poor by domestic and international observers. Initially, the 1973
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
twice enjoins "adequate provision shall be made for minorities" in its preamble, and the Fourth Amendment (1975) guaranteed at least six seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
would be held by minorities to safeguard their "legitimate interests". However, the human rights record of Pakistan declined under the dictatorship of the US-supported General Zia. General Zia introduced
Sharia Law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...
which led to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ization of the country. The current regime in Pakistan has been responsible for
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
,
extrajudicial executions An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...
and other
human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
.
Forced conversion Forced conversion is the adoption of a religion or irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, w ...
and
Honor killing An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...
s are also common in Pakistan. Freedom House has assessed Pakistan as "Partly Free" with a relatively low score of 37/100, indicating that it does not qualify as a "free democracy." This classification is based on a range of factors, including the military's influence, incidents involving Islamist militants, and constraints imposed on civil liberties.


Turkey

Despite the genocide committed at the beginning of the 20th century against 3 million local Christians. and the expulsion of the Greeks from the Greek cities that the Turks conquered such as Antalya and Istanbul. Turkey is considered by many as being the exemplary country of the Muslim world where a satisfactory compromise is made between the values of Islamic and Western civilizations. One of the main reasons cited for Turkey's significant improvement in its human rights efforts over the past few decades is the country's push towards satisfying European Union pre-conditions for membership. In 2000, AI, on the back of visits made to the country to observe human rights practices, found that Turkey was demonstrating signs of greater transparency compared to other Muslim countries. In 2002, an AI report stated that the Turkish parliament passed three laws "…aimed at bringing Turkish law into line with European human rights standards." The same report further noted that "AI was given permission to open a branch in Turkey under the Law on Associations." Some of the latest human rights steps taken by Turkey include "the fourth judicial reform package adopted in April, which strengthens the protection of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and the fight against impunity for cases of torture and ill-treatment; the peace process which aims to end terrorism and violence in the Southeast of the country and pave the way for a solution to the Kurdish issue; the September 2013 democratisation package which sets out further reform, covering important issues such as the use of languages other than Turkish, and minority rights." Further progress was also recorded on the women's rights front where Turkey was the first country to ratify the Council of Europe Convention against Domestic Violence. Also, in 2009, the Turkish government established a Parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women to look at reducing the inequality between the sexes. Despite all these advancements, there are still many significant human rights issues troubling the country. In a 2013-human rights report by the United States Department of State, amongst the problems to receive significant criticism were government interference with freedom of expression and assembly, lack of transparency and independence of the judiciary and inadequate protection of vulnerable populations. Human Rights Watch has even gone as far as to declare that there has been a "human rights rollback" in the country. According to the report, this has taken place amidst the mass anti-government protests which took place in 2013. Under the current leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the ruling party has become increasingly intolerant of "political opposition, public protest, and critical media". The recent rise in religious intolerance and
Islamization The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...
under
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
regime was exemplified when in early July 2020, the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
annulled the Cabinet's 1934 decision to establish the museum, revoking the monument's status, and a subsequent decree by Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
ordered the reclassification of
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
as a mosque.


Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has one of the worst human rights records of any country in the world. Amongst the most serious human rights issues plaguing the republic are "the government’s manipulation of the electoral process, which severely limited citizens’ right to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, speech, and press; and disregard for the physical integrity of persons whom it arbitrarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed." In 2014, Human Rights Watch reported that despite changes to the penal code, the death penalty was still liberally meted resulting in one of the highest rates of executions in the world. On top of that, security authorities have been repressing free speech and dissent. Many opposition parties, labour unions and student groups were banned and scores of political prisoners were still locked up. The country has generally closed itself off to outside interference. The government has refused the request of the United Nations to have Special Rapporteur-Ahmed Shaheed report on the human rights situation in the country though they did, however, announce that two UN experts would be allowed to visit in 2015.


Qatar


FIFA 2022

The talk of human rights in Qatar has surged after people started questioning how ethical the building of the stadiums for FIFA 2022 was. Questioning the statistics of the number of deaths of the migrant workers that worked in the stadiums. The death tolls of the Labour workers connected to the stadiums surpassed any other of any country that had hosted and prepared for the World Cup, that number being 6,500. The WHO also mentioned that 1,500 deaths per year is the average for a population of 2 million people. However, Qatar initiated new working standards for workers, including protection from heat stress, where workers are prohibited to work outside if the temperature surpasses 32 degrees.


Migrant rights

Racism toward immigrants in Qatar is prevalent and is shown in multiple ways. One way it is shown is by prioritizing the locals in the workplace over immigrants. Some of the domestic workers have spoken out on the mistreatment they’ve been through working for some Qatari families. A few instances include how cruel the working conditions are, the abuse they suffered, ranging from sexual, verbal and physical.


Freedom of speech

Qatar's freedom of speech is very restrictive. Expressing negative views or threats on the Emir or the country can get an individual fined or prisoned. Two men were sentenced to life in prison for threatening the Emir on social media. Another individual was fined 100,000 QR for spreading false news.


See also

*
Women in Islam The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies due to culture and values that were often predating Islam's introduction to the respective regions of the w ...
*
Arab Charter on Human Rights The Arab Charter on Human Rights (ACHR), adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States on 22 May 2004, affirms the principles contained in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Righ ...
* History of human rights in the early Islamic Caliphate *
Human rights in the Middle East Human rights in the Middle East have been shaped by the legal and political development of international human rights law after the Second World War, and their application to the Middle East. The 2004 United Nations Arab Human Development Report ...
* Human rights in the Qur'anic texts


References


Further reading

* Maimul Ahsan Khan (2003), Human Rights in the Muslim World: Fundamentalism, Constitutionalism, and International Politics. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press.


External links


Islam Challenges to Universal Human Rights
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