Manchester University Press
7 Islamic law, human rights and neo-colonialism
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the interface and tensions between the human rights tradition and the Islamic tradition, particularly Islamic law. A human rights commitment is an intellectual conviction given reality by protecting and serving the well-being, dignity and autonomy of human beings, simply because they are human. Islamophobia is a necessary adjunct to a foreign policy of social and cultural engineering. The George W. Bush administration and its neo-con ideologues believe that Islam needs social engineering to save Muslims from themselves. The policies of the Bush era are similar to Colonialism's in two other respects: exceptionalism and protectoratism. Exclusivists re-engineer the classical legal tradition in response to the onslaught of Colonialism and the ideological aggression of the proponents of human rights. They construct Islamic law such that it becomes a symbol of opposition to Western interventionism.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the interface and tensions between the human rights tradition and the Islamic tradition, particularly Islamic law. A human rights commitment is an intellectual conviction given reality by protecting and serving the well-being, dignity and autonomy of human beings, simply because they are human. Islamophobia is a necessary adjunct to a foreign policy of social and cultural engineering. The George W. Bush administration and its neo-con ideologues believe that Islam needs social engineering to save Muslims from themselves. The policies of the Bush era are similar to Colonialism's in two other respects: exceptionalism and protectoratism. Exclusivists re-engineer the classical legal tradition in response to the onslaught of Colonialism and the ideological aggression of the proponents of human rights. They construct Islamic law such that it becomes a symbol of opposition to Western interventionism.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Preface vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 The function of narrative in the ‘war on terror’ 28
- Response to Ahdaf Soueif 43
- 2 Terrorism, war and international law 47
- Response to Michael Byers 74
- 3 Human rights in an age of counter-terrorism 83
- Response to Conor Gearty 99
- 4 Terrorism 105
- Response to Thomas Pogge 136
- 5 War/terror/politics 141
- Response to Bat-Ami Bar 156
- 6 War, terrorism and the ‘war on terror’ 159
- Response to Jeff McMahan 185
- 7 Islamic law, human rights and neo-colonialism 193
- Response to Khaled Abou El Fadl 223
- 8 The threshold of the human 227
- Response to Joanna Bourke 248
- 9 Defending the transgressed by censuring the reckless against the killing of civilians 253
- Index 285
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Preface vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 The function of narrative in the ‘war on terror’ 28
- Response to Ahdaf Soueif 43
- 2 Terrorism, war and international law 47
- Response to Michael Byers 74
- 3 Human rights in an age of counter-terrorism 83
- Response to Conor Gearty 99
- 4 Terrorism 105
- Response to Thomas Pogge 136
- 5 War/terror/politics 141
- Response to Bat-Ami Bar 156
- 6 War, terrorism and the ‘war on terror’ 159
- Response to Jeff McMahan 185
- 7 Islamic law, human rights and neo-colonialism 193
- Response to Khaled Abou El Fadl 223
- 8 The threshold of the human 227
- Response to Joanna Bourke 248
- 9 Defending the transgressed by censuring the reckless against the killing of civilians 253
- Index 285
