SISU-375 Human Rights and Islam (3)

Human rights tenets are deeply embedded in the religious vision of Islam. This course examines human rights as a value and norm in international relations and of Islam as a constituent of political culture. It explores the wealth of information dealing with the issue from the Quranic discourse, the Prophetic tradition, Muslim scholars’ interpretations, modern humanism perspectives, international law documents, independent scholars’ findings, and official and non-official declarations by the United Nations and other organizations. Questions explored include what people in Muslim cultures think about human rights and why; how Islam influences the understanding of human rights in Muslim societies; is there an antithesis between Islam as a religion and the value of human rights; and how proposals for a particularly Islamic conceptualization of human rights are evaluated. Grading: A-F only. Prerequisite: SISU-206 and SISU-270.