Volume 7, Issue 1

This paper argues that within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism lies an important perspective for approaching human rights. Sufism, while usually perceived as only dealing with spiritual matters, actually expresses a distinct message of service to mankind, and thus should be examined within the discussion of Islam and human rights. Along with Sufism's emphasis on service, the Sufi message of unity with God, and specifically the message of recognizing the existence of God in all creatures resonate soundly within the human rights discourse. With these points in mind, Sufi philosophy heightens the importance of human rights, while also allowing for self-construction regarding issues of human rights, and should be considered as another approach within the Islamic framework that is highly compatible with international human rights.

The use of the term `honor killing' has elicited strong reactions from a variety of groups for years; but the recent Aqsa Parvez and Aasiya Hassan cases have brought a renewed interest from women's rights activists, community leaders, and law enforcement to study the term and come to a consensus on its validity and usefulness, particularly in the North American and European Diaspora. While some aver that the term `honor killing' is an appropriate description of a unique and particular crime, others deem it as rather a racist and misleading phrase used to promote violent stereotypes of particular communities, particularly Muslim minorities in North America and Europe. This article works to lay the groundwork by presenting both sides of the debate over the term `honor killing' and analyzing the arguments various groups use in order to justify their particular definition of the term, and if and how they support its use in public discourse. I argue two main points: one, that `honor killing' exists as a specific form of violence against women, having particular characteristics that warrants its classification as a unique category of violence. Second, I show that while `honor killings' are recognized as such in many non-Western contexts, there is a trend among advocacy organizations in the North American and European Diaspora to avoid, ignore, or rebuke the term `honor killings' as a misleading label that is racist, xenophobic, and/or harmful to Muslim populations. This is a direct response to the misuse of the term mostly within media outlets and public discourse that serves to further marginalize Muslim and immigrant groups.

In this essay, at the outset the meaning of ‘public,’ as it will be deployed in the article, will be delineated. Then by surveying new media, this study intends to show how the information revolution can bring social and political change in Muslim societies, especially in the Middle East. However, in this way a particular level of differentiation will be provided by distinguishing not just such media as satellite broadcasting from the Internet, but the second from the first generation of the Internet. With regard to the relation between online activities and offline social and political behavior, particularly the role of some new Web 2.0 applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, in changing Muslim publics will be discussed and some specific examples from the Muslim world, especially Iran, will be presented. Finally, the implication of this study would be that the Internet may have something to do with the transition from authoritarianism to democracy.