Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights By Abdulaziz Sachedina (City: Oxford University Press, 2009. 249 pages.)

Abstract

In Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights, Abdulaziz Sachedina calls for
a new conversation between religious and secular forces to achieve an “overlapping
consensus” on human rights and its underlying principles. According
to him, developing a firm foundation for human rights in Islam is key to
reaching such a consensus. Thus after critiquing the contemporary human
rights regime and the traditionalist Muslim approach to it, he tries to develop
such a theological foundation. Although showing a keen awareness of the
numerous tensions between the international human rights framework and
the Muslim world’s cultural, social, and political sensibilities, the author
posits that some form of notions of individuality, human agency, and human
dignity are compatible with the Islamic revelation. Recognizing this provides
Islam and the human rights project important “common moral terrain.” ...