Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam

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The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam ( Arabic إعلان القاهرة حول حقوق الإنسان في الإسلام, DMG Iʿlān al-Qāhira ḥaula ḥuqūq al-insān fī l-Islām ) is a declaration adopted in 1990 by the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference , which defines the Sharīʿa as the sole basis of human rights . The declaration is seen as the Islamic counterpart to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights .

history

Mostly Islamic countries such as Sudan , Pakistan , Iran and Saudi Arabia criticized the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights because of their view of the lack of respect for the religion and culture of non- Western countries. As early as 1981, a non-binding “Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam” was drawn up in London by a non-representative “Islamic Council of Europe”, “a non-governmental organization based in London which, as a private institution, cannot claim any allegiance. The declaration came about at the initiative of the Saudi royal family and was influenced by the influential participation of scientists from Sudan, Pakistan and Egypt ”.

According to the Islamic scholar Andreas Meier, the versions of the 1981 “General Declaration” of 1981 in English or French, on which German translations are based, are “considerably shortened” compared to the original. They hardly reveal the underlying "implications of the Islamic legal tradition".

In the same year, the Iranian representative to the United Nations , Said Rajaie-Khorassani, summed up the Iranian position on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by saying that it was “a secular interpretation of the Judeo-Christian tradition, which Muslims do not without breaking the Islamic law can be followed ".

The Cairo Declaration was adopted on August 5, 1990 by 45 foreign ministers from the 57-member Islamic Conference. It is intended to serve as a guideline for the member states with regard to human rights, but is therefore not binding under international law.

content

The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights is closely based on the form and content of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations . The aim of the declaration is to guide humanity, confused by competing currents and ideologies, and to offer solutions to the chronic problems of this materialistic civilization . However, it explicitly makes restrictions with reference to Sharia law in the individual articles . For example, Article 2 is:

“A) Life is a gift from God and the right to life is guaranteed to everyone. It is the duty of the individual, society and state to protect this right from violation, and it is forbidden to take the life of another except when required by Sharia law.
b) It is forbidden to use means that lead to the destruction of humanity.
c) As long as God grants life to man, it must be protected according to Sharia law.
d) The right to physical integrity is guaranteed. Every state has a duty to protect this right and it is forbidden to violate this right unless there is a reason prescribed by Sharia law. "

Article 5 of the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights deals with marriage, the right to marriage for women and men, and the state's obligation to protect marriage. In contrast to, for example, Article 1, in which human dignity is guaranteed regardless of “race, skin color, language, gender, religion, political attitude, social status or other reasons”, the right to marriage in Article 5 only applies regardless of “restrictions based on race, skin color or nationality ”.

Article 7 defines rights between children and their parents. Parents have the right to choose their children's upbringing only to the extent that this is in accordance with the “ethical values ​​and principles of Sharia”.

Article 11 gives an absolute prohibition of any kind of colonialism.

Article 12 regulates the right to free movement and asylum, but in both cases with explicit reference to the restrictions of Sharia law.

Article 19 guarantees equality before the law for all people and legal certainty. Sharia is established as the sole basis for deciding on crimes or punishments.

Article 22 guarantees the right to freedom of expression as long as it does not violate Sharia principles. Section b) gives everyone the right to vigilante justice in accordance with the norms of Sharia law. Section c) prohibits the use of the right to freedom of expression to "violate the holiness and dignity of the prophets, undermine moral and ethical values ​​and divide, corrupt, harm or weaken society" .

Articles 24 and 25 subordinate all of the rights and freedoms named in the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights, again expressly to the Islamic Sharia, and name the Sharia as the "sole competent source for the interpretation or explanation of each individual article of this declaration".

Comparison with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights differs from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in many respects, above all in that it clearly only recognizes those rights that are in accordance with the Sharia. Article 24 states: "All rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration are subordinate to the Islamic Sharia." Article 19 states: "There are no crimes and punishments other than those specified in the Sharia". The role of Islamic law as the sole source of justice is confirmed by Article 25, which stipulates: "The Islamic Sharia is the sole reference for the explanation or explanation of all articles of this declaration". The Cairo Declaration underscores its origins in Islam as the “true religion” and the way of life of Islamic society ( ummah ), which is described as the best of all human societies and to which a civilizing and historical role is ascribed.

With almost every reference to human rights, the Cairo Declaration makes the restriction that these rights must be exercised in accordance with the Shari'a. Article 22, for example, limits freedom of speech to expressions of opinion that do not contradict Islamic law. The right to exercise public office can only be exercised in accordance with the Sharia.

The Cairo Declaration contradicts the international understanding of human rights because it does not recognize the irrevocability of religious freedom. Article 5 prohibits any restriction of the right to marry in terms of “race”, “skin color” or “nationality”, but does not list the religion, so that men and women can be subjected to marriage restrictions on the basis of their religious affiliation.

The declaration does not endorse equality between men and women, rather it states that men are superior. Article 6 guarantees women equal dignity, but not equality in other matters. Furthermore, the article places responsibility for the maintenance of the family on the man; the woman is not assigned a corresponding role.

Similar regional human rights declarations

The Council of the League of Arab States separately adopted an Arab Charter of Human Rights in September 1994 , and in January 2004 in a revised version. In its preamble, this expressly acknowledges the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the content of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It also confirms the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which means a certain contradiction (see above).

rating

Adama Dieng , a member of the International Commission of Jurists , criticized the Cairo Declaration because

  1. it seriously threatens the intercultural consensus that is the basis of international human rights
  2. it leads, in the name of the defense of human rights, to intolerable discrimination against non-Muslims and women
  3. it is deliberately restrictive in relation to certain fundamental rights and freedoms, so that certain essential provisions are below the applicable standard of some Islamic countries
  4. under the protection of Islamic Sharia law, it confirms the legitimacy of practices, such as corporal punishment, which attack the integrity and dignity of human beings.

The sociologist Necla Kelek sees the most important statements in articles 24 and 25 of the declaration : “All rights and freedoms mentioned in this declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia ... The Islamic Sharia is the only competent source for the interpretation or explanation of each individual Article of this Declaration. ”She also mentions the preamble:“ The members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference emphasize the cultural role of the Islamic ummah, created by God as the best nation and which has brought mankind a universal and well-balanced civilization. ”

In contrast to democratic constitutions , we do not speak of the individual here, but of the community of believers as a collective . As a result, the declaration only recognizes the rights stipulated in the Koran and Sharia only classifies as crimes those acts that the Koran and Sunna judge equally: “There is no crime and punishment other than those stipulated in Sharia” (Article 19). Equality is not provided for in this declaration, but it legitimizes social control and denunciation, as Article 22 makes clear: “Everyone has the right to stand up for the right, in accordance with the norms of Sharia, to defend what is good and to defend against injustice to warn the evil. ”That is an indirect justification of vigilante justice .

The Cairo Declaration expressly makes all its articles, including those on freedom of belief, subject to Sharia law and emphasizes in its preamble the leadership role of the Islamic community. Hans Zirker states that there is nothing in the Cairo Declaration about “the individual right to self-determination in questions of religion, belief, worldview” that this is alien to the Muslim tradition.

literature

Web links

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  1. ↑ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam" ( Memento of December 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 85 kB), London, September 19, 1981. From: CIBEDO -Documentation No. 15/16, June - September 1982.
  2. ↑ Christine Schirrmacher in: Islamic human rights declarations and their critics. Objections by Muslims and non-Muslims to the validity of the Sharia , January 2008.
  3. ↑ Andreas Meier, ed .: Political currents in modern Islam. Sources and Comments. Federal Agency for Civic Education , BpB, Bonn 1995 ISBN 3893312390 ; and Peter Hammer Verlag , Wuppertal 1995 ISBN 3872947249 , p. 170; Excerpts from the document on pp. 173–177. - This edition also as a special edition. the state center for political education North Rhine-Westphalia with the same ISBN. All editions are abridged versions of The Political Mission of Islam. Programs and Criticism between Fundamentalism and Reforms. Original voices from the Islamic world. Peter Hammer, Wuppertal 1994.
  4. ^ "A secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition, which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law"; quoted from Littman (1999).
  5. ↑ http://www.soziales.fh-dortmund.de/Berger/Forschung/islam/Kairoer%20Erkl%C3%A4rung%20der%20OIC.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was created automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.soziales.fh-dortmund.de  
  6. ^ Mathewson Denny (2004), p.272.
  7. ^ "All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari'ah".
  8. ^ "There shall be no crime or punishment except as provided for in the Shari'a."
  9. ↑ "The Islamic Schari'a is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration."
  10. ↑ "true religion"
  11. ↑ "Civilizing and historical role"
  12. ↑ "Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari'a."
  13. ^ Smith (2003), 195.
  14. ↑ Kazemi (2002), p.50.
  15. ↑ Arab Charter of Human Rights, adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States on September 15, 1994 (PDF file; 103 kB).
  16. ^ Littman (1999).
  17. ↑ Necla Kelek: Integration of Muslims - If you are not from us, then you are the devil. The collectivist social model of Islam stands in the way of integration ; FAZ from April 25, 2007.
  18. ↑ Zirker: The "Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam" ; Duisburg-Essen Publications online , p. 9.
  19. ↑ to the 1981 declaration.
  20. ^ From: Federal Agency for Civic Education BpB: Human Rights. Documents and declarations. Series of publications, 397. Bonn 2004, pp. 562-567.
  21. ↑ Here the beginning of the explanations, continued as a link to the .pdf.