On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Since then, Islam has come under attack for violating many of those rights — including women's rights, religious rights, children's rights and others.
Shaykh Jaafar Idris unravels the very core of human rights, exploring the background and nature of the human rights issue. He also illuminates the Islamic view on the very rights that are in question in this modern day and age.
Why He Starts With the Background
Because the prior question decides everything that follows: where does a right come from?
If rights are granted by agreement among states, then they can be withdrawn by the same agreement, and the 1948 Declaration is a document rather than a standard. If they are granted by the Creator, they are not subject to negotiation at all — which is a considerably stronger foundation, and one Muslims rarely think to argue from.
Most defenses of Islam on this subject accept the framing and then argue within it. This lecture examines the framing first, which is why it is more interesting than the usual treatment.
Who It Is For
Muslims who meet these accusations and want more than a defensive answer. Students of politics and law. And anyone doing da'wah in a context where this is the objection that comes up.
