Islam and human rights : tradition and politics / Ann Elizabeth Mayer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-210) and index.

1. Comparisons of Rights Across Cultures. Obstacles to Comparison. Cultural Relativism. Muslim Positions on Human Rights -- 2. International and Islamic Human Rights. International Human Rights: Sources. Islamic Human Rights: Sources. Islamization Programs. The Impact on Rights of Islamization Programs in Pakistan, Iran, and the Sudan. The Impact on Rights of the 1992 Saudi Reforms -- 3. International Human Rights: The Historical Background. The Contribution of Western Civilization. The Role of the United Nations. The Role of Islamic Law. The Premodern Islamic Heritage. Muslim Reactions to Western Constitutionalism. Muslim Ambivalence on Rights. The Persistence of Traditional Priorities and Values -- 4. Islamic Restrictions on Human Rights. Permissible Qualifications of Rights and Freedoms. Islamic Formulas Limiting Rights. Restrictions in the Iranian Constitution. Restrictions in the UIDHR. Restrictions in Other Islamic Human Rights Schemes --

5. Discrimination Against Women and Non-Muslims. Equality in the Islamic Legal Tradition. Equality in Islamic Human Rights Schemes. Equal Protection in U.S. and International Law. Equal Protection in Islamic Human Rights Schemes -- 6. Restrictions on the Rights and Freedoms of Women. Islamic Law and Women's Rights. Tabandeh's Ideas. Mawdudi's Ideas. The UIDHR. The Iranian Constitution. The Sudan Under Islamization. The Azhar Draft Constitution. The Cairo Declaration and the Saudi Basic Law. Summary of the Islamic Approaches. Women's Rights in Islamic and International Human Rights Schemes. The Influence of Sex Stereotyping -- 7. Islamic Human Rights Schemes and Non-Muslims. The Treatment of Religious Minorities in Muslim Countries. Standards Prohibiting Religious Discrimination. Shari'a Law and the Rights of Non-Muslims. Tabandeh and the Rights of Religious Minorities. The UIDHR. The Iranian Constitution. Mawdudi. The Cairo Declaration and the Saudi Basic Law --

8. Freedom of Religion in Islamic Human Rights Schemes. International Human Rights Law and the Shari'a Rule on Apostasy. Rethinking the Shari'a Rule on Apostasy. Tabandeh. The UIDHR. The Azhar Draft Constitution. Mawdudi. The Iranian Constitution. The Sudan Under Nimeiri. The Cairo Declaration and the Saudi Basic Law -- 9. An Assessment of Islamic Human Rights Schemes. Deviations from International Human Rights Principles. Impact of Shari'a Law. Cultural Nationalism. Actual Human Rights Concerns in the Middle East -- 10. Islam and Culture-Based Resistance to Rights.

Do Islam and Islamic law constitute real obstacles to human rights? In this revised and updated edition, the author offers critical assessments of recent Islamic human rights schemes that dilute or eliminate the human rights protections afforded by international law and compares these both with the Islamic legal heritage and with international human rights law.

Contesting stereotypes about a supposedly monolithic Islam inherently incompatible with human rights, Mayer dissects the political motives behind the selective use of elements of the Islamic tradition by conservative groups opposed to democracy and human rights.