Islamic Human Rights Skepticism

Muslims have proven themselves to be sensitive to the charge that Islam isincompatible with human rights. Issues pertaining to the content andfoundations of human rights have been the focus of attention of a number ofIranian scholars who have sought to elaborate a concept of human rights in thelight of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt ( a). Despite the valuable work thathas been done in this area, writers on human rights in Islam have largelyignored the various forms of human rights skepticism that have accompaniedthe development of the concept of human rights internationally. Here I outlinethe main forms that human rights skepticism has taken in the West. Byreviewing the various kinds of skepticism about human rights, it is possible todevelop concepts of human rights that differ in important ways from thosethat dominate the current discussions of human rights in Iran. I tentativelyconclude that although various forms of human rights skepticism areconsistent with Islamic teachings, and the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt inparticular, this does not imply that Muslims, in general, or the Shi ah, inparticular, should be opposed to human rights.

کلیدواژه ها:

Human rights ، Islam ، Ahl al-Bayt ، human rights skepticism