Framing the debate on Islam and human rights

Is Islam compatible with human rights? This fundamental question has generated a large body of literature addressing the question from different, often opposing, positions. The literalist reading of Islam emphasises the gaps between the limits of tolerance and acceptability in the Qurn and Hadith on the one hand, and internationally-sanctioned standards for human rights. The status of women and religious freedom are often the two key area of contention. This approach, for example, highlights specific passages in the Qurn that articulate the position of women in matters of legal judgment, inheritance and in the family setting. The impression of an unequal standing for men and women in these matters is inescapable. What is more, inequality can turn into something much graver as issues relating to religious freedom bring into question the physical safety of Muslims who may wish to leave Islam (Saeed and Saeed 2004). Leaving the faith is condemned as apostasy and is punishable by death. Taking away life is the ultimate punishment, and in direct violation of the right to life. In a literalist reading of Islam, there is little room to negotiate human rights, as clear injunctions contravene the normative framework of the international human rights regime.