By Moataz El Fegiery
The debate on Islam and human rights is old and ongoing. It has received a considerable attention from both Muslim and non-Muslims scholars (Baderin2007:1). Muslim states have ratified numerous international human rights instruments and they have actively taken part in the activities of the international and regional human rights mechanisms (Baderin2008:626). The universal validity of human rights has become increasingly acceptable by Muslim states. However, the scope and content of certain rights have been significantly contested by the majority of these states (Baderin and Ssenyonjo2010, 21). Previous research in this area has shown that the thorny issues for Muslim states in relation to international human rights are women rights, religious freedom, religious minorities and the application of Islamic corporal punishments (Modirzadeh2006:201). Nonetheless, there is no monolithic Islamic position towards international human rights among either Muslim states or Muslim scholars who have demonstrated diverse practices and views towards the compatibility between Islamic law[1] and human rights (Baderin2007; Bielefeldt1995).
