Volume 7, Issue 2

This paper analyzes the struggle for women’s suffrage in Kuwait to determine how and why it was successful. The research highlights two paradoxical findings: first, democratic progress occurred despite the pacifying and hindering effects of modernization; second, it was supported more strongly and effectively by Kuwait's autocratic executive than the democratically elected Kuwaiti parliament. We delineate two psychological factors that were connected to the climax of the struggle as they were experienced and acted upon by a relatively small number of Kuwaiti middle- and upper-class women: transformative events and the tying of struggle goals to self-esteem. We examine these factors in the context of interaction between chaotic political circumstances and the new strategy and tactics that suffragists employed in the last phase of their struggle. The analytic approach involves process tracing, field research, interviews, and longitudinal analysis of primary and secondary sources.

This paper discusses to what extent, if any, recent street uprisings in Iran have been fuelled by gender inequalities; and, what the legal challenges of transforming such gender equality demands into the constitution are. I argue that a demographic transition that commenced two decades ago in Iran changed the status of women in family and society. Such a transition has unavoidably increased the presence of women in the public sphere and challenged gender presumptions within the law. To give a constitutional response to such demands, I argue, the Iranian Constitution must re-examine the correlation between women and men as biological and/or social groups, and the relationship among women themselves as a group consisting of diverse identities. Moreover, equal attention must be paid to women’s norm, diversity, and agency.

Verse 4:34 of the Qur'an has historically been interpreted to give husbands authority over their wives. Even today, such as in a recent case in the United Arab Emirates, Islamic courts have held that the husband has some leeway in "disciplining" wives who act in a rebellious manner to their husbands. This article challenges this interpretation through a comprehensive legal analysis, taking into account (1) the context under which the verse came about, including the societal norms and conditions of the time; (2) the Prophet Muhammad’s profound views against violence towards women; (3) the values of marriage emphasized in the Qur’an; (4) the Qur’an’s incremental approach to improving social behavior and practice; and (5) the higher objectives of Islamic law.

While the migration of the Muslim in the U.S. dates back to the late 1800s and they have been active members of society for decades, the presence of Muslims in the U.S. has recently come under focus and discussion. The U.S. is a nation that has historically struggled with treating all its citizens equally and has been in the frontlines of eliminating these inequalities. As a result of 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., there has been a systematic and troubling trend of violations of citizenship rights of American Muslims in general. This paper examines these violations before and after 9/11 from a historical perspective. For this purpose, Chicago, as the home of one of the largest Muslim communities in the country, is used to document and conduct this analysis. The paper also discusses the implications of these issues in terms of citizenship, race, and ethnicity.

Over the last eight years, there has been a sharp increase in government censorship and officially sponsored persecution of the Moroccan free press. The Moroccan press still enjoys greater freedoms now than under the late King Hassan II, thanks to the liberalization efforts he facilitated toward the end of his life, which were also continued in the early years of his son’s reign. However, the freedoms media activists worked so hard to obtain at the end of the last century have rapidly begun to erode, particularly after the 2003 terrorist attacks in Casablanca. Morocco remains an important Arab ally to both the United States and Europe, but the monarchy risks that relationship by tightening the reigns on speech and violating international human rights laws. Moreover, the monarchy puts itself at risk domestically every time it imprisons a journalist or imposes a bankrupting fine on a popular periodical, as Moroccan human rights groups grow less enchanted by their king. Over the last two years, criminal charges against the media have increased significantly, causing some publications to close and leaving a number of journalists in jail for their writings. In addition, since 2008, the Moroccan government has begun to censor the Internet, arresting bloggers and satirists and temporarily suspending access to popular websites, such as YouTube. This article explores Morocco's obligations under international and domestic law relating to freedom of expression and examines some recent court cases involving the Moroccan media.

Justice and Rights: Christian and Muslim Perspectives is an ambitious, and fairly compact, edited volume. Ranging from scriptural analysis to historical developments over the course of centuries to contemporary debates in international law, the collection blends analytic essays from leading scholars with historical texts from thinkers like al-Ghazali and Martin Luther. As with any broad edited volume, there are shortcomings here, but on the whole, Justice and Rights provides a useful introduction to the classical and contemporary debates regarding debates over the relationship between religion and human rights. While not exclusively targeted to those researching Islam and human rights, the volume should be of interest to those comparing patterns of rights development in Muslim and Christian communities.