Islamic law and international human rights law : searching for common ground? / edited by Anver M. Emon, Mark S. Ellis, Benjamin Glahn.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Editors' introduction : from 'common ground' to 'clearing ground' : a model for engagement in the 21st century / Anver M. Emon, Mark S. Ellis and Benjamin Glahn ---- Part I. Islamic law and international human rights law. 1. Narrating law / Kathleen Cavanaugh --- 2. Shari'a and the modern state / Anver M. Emon --- 3. Commentary to 'Shari'a and the modern state' and 'Narrating law' / Hans Corell --- 4. Islamic law and international law : convergence or conflict? / Mark S. Ellis --- 5. Clearing ground : commentary to 'Shari'a and the modern state' / Muhammad Khalid Masud --- 6. Commentary : Shari'a as rule of law / Adel Omar Sherif ---- Part II. Freedom of speech. 7. Rethinking the universality of human rights : a comparative historical proposal for the idea of 'common ground' with other moral traditions / Nehal Bhuta --- 8. Negotiating speech in Islamic law and politics : flipped traditions of expression / Intisar A. Rabb --- 9. Freedom of speech : The great divide and the common ground between the United States and the rest of the world / John B Bellinger III and Murad Hussain ---- Part III. Freedom of religion. 10. Freedom of religion and belief in international law : a comparative analysis / Urfan Khaliq --- 11. Pre-modern Islamic legal restrictions on freedom of religion, with particular reference to apostasy and its punishment / Abdullah Saeed --- 12. Freedom of religion and expression : a 'rule of law' perspective / Malik Imtiaz Sarwar --- 13. Freedom of conscience and religion : a brief reflection / Sumner B. Twiss ---- Part IV. Gender equality. 14. Un-veiling equality : disciplining the 'other' woman through human rights discourse / Ratna Kapur --- 15. Women in search of common ground : between Islamic and international human rights law / Ziba Mir-Hosseini ---16. Commentary : women and Islamic law / Justice Sandra Day O'Connor --- 17. Musawah, CEDAW, and Muslim family laws in the 21st century / Lynn Welchman ---- Part V. Minority rights. 18. Religious minorities and Islamic law : accommodation and the limits of tolerance / Anver M. Emon --- 19. The dialectic of international law and the contested approaches to minority rights / Errol P. Mendes --- 20. Commentary : religious minorities and Islamic law / Richard J. Goldstone --- 21. Islam vs. the Shari'a : minority protection within Islamic and international legal traditions / Javaid Rehman ---- Epilogue : common ground or clearing ground? / Robin W. Lovin.

The relationship between Islamic law and international human rights law has been the subject of considerable, and heated, debate in recent years. The usual starting point has been to test one system by the standards of the other, asking is Islamic law 'compatible' with international human rights standards, or vice versa. This approach quickly ends in acrimony and accusations of misunderstanding. By overlaying one set of norms on another we overlook the deeply contextual nature of how legal rules operate in a society, and meaningful comparison and discussion is impossible. In this volume, leading experts in Islamic law and international human rights law attempt to deepen the understanding of human rights and Islam, paving the way for a more meaningful debate. Focusing on central areas of controversy, such as freedom of speech and religion, gender equality, and minority rights, the authors examine the contextual nature of how Islamic law and international human rights law are legitimately formed, interpreted, and applied within a community. They examine how these fundamental interests are recognized and protected within the law, and what restrictions are placed on the freedoms associated with them. -- Jacket.