Abstract The core of the argument of this article is that the integration of Islamic notions of justice into transitional justice mechanisms in the MENA makes for a more viable and sustainable transitional justice process in the region. This would mean a critical cultural value in the MENA is given a place in dealing with the past and mapping out a sustainable future in the region. The argument here is premised on the logic that a social transformation-focused enterprise like transitional justice ought to engage with Islam for sustainable outcomes in societies in the MENA where Islam is very influential. Given the significant role and influence of Islam on cultural, socio-political and legal institutions in the MENA, a process of transitional justice that takes account of Islamic values and practices is important for negotiating justice and institutionalising reforms in societies in the region.
{"title":"Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa – Taking Account of Islam","authors":"Hakeem O Yusuf","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The core of the argument of this article is that the integration of Islamic notions of justice into transitional justice mechanisms in the MENA makes for a more viable and sustainable transitional justice process in the region. This would mean a critical cultural value in the MENA is given a place in dealing with the past and mapping out a sustainable future in the region. The argument here is premised on the logic that a social transformation-focused enterprise like transitional justice ought to engage with Islam for sustainable outcomes in societies in the MENA where Islam is very influential. Given the significant role and influence of Islam on cultural, socio-political and legal institutions in the MENA, a process of transitional justice that takes account of Islamic values and practices is important for negotiating justice and institutionalising reforms in societies in the region.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42260969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper examines the relationship between gender, religion, and development within the context of illegal fatwas (i. e. religious edicts) affecting women in rural Bangladesh. Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in two districts in Bangladesh, this paper argues that biased fatwa decrees at the rural level against women are not simply the expression of traditional religious beliefs; social and cultural gender roles and perceptions defined through patriarchy must be taken into account. The advent of the women-centered development agenda in rural Bangladesh and the emergence of the female working-class have led to an increase in religious fundamentalism in rural communities. Fatwas thus reflect this increase as a result of friction between NGO programs seeking to provide women with new opportunities and rural male elites set on maintaining traditional power structures. This study reveals the importance of NGO-led interventions as the best justice-seeking mechanism to empower rural women in Bangladesh, and highlights the significance of engaging with various competing factors that lead to gender violence in the country.
{"title":"Rights, Roles, and Rural Realities: A Case Study on the Effects of Fatwa Decrees Against Women in Rural Bangladesh","authors":"F. Rahman","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper examines the relationship between gender, religion, and development within the context of illegal fatwas (i. e. religious edicts) affecting women in rural Bangladesh. Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in two districts in Bangladesh, this paper argues that biased fatwa decrees at the rural level against women are not simply the expression of traditional religious beliefs; social and cultural gender roles and perceptions defined through patriarchy must be taken into account. The advent of the women-centered development agenda in rural Bangladesh and the emergence of the female working-class have led to an increase in religious fundamentalism in rural communities. Fatwas thus reflect this increase as a result of friction between NGO programs seeking to provide women with new opportunities and rural male elites set on maintaining traditional power structures. This study reveals the importance of NGO-led interventions as the best justice-seeking mechanism to empower rural women in Bangladesh, and highlights the significance of engaging with various competing factors that lead to gender violence in the country.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2017-0005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47083380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Levels of support for democratic governance and human rights in the Occupied West Bank appear to be inextricably linked. Although definitions of these two concepts are by no means universal, the contexts in which opinions are formed about these notions are significant. What meaning do these concepts have to Palestinians? How are these ideals examined and debated in a society that has remained under occupation for more than half a century? To answer these questions, this article explores the results of an original, representative public opinion survey (n=832) conducted in the West Bank in the summer of 2013, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Accords. The results point to high levels of cynicism towards human rights and democracy. I argue that the reason for this is directly related to exposure to the Israeli occupation, its policies, and a feeling of disenchantment with humanitarian organizations funded by governments that take no meaningful action to end the occupation.
{"title":"Contextualizing Cynicism: Palestinian Public Opinion Towards Human Rights and Democracy","authors":"K. Dana","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Levels of support for democratic governance and human rights in the Occupied West Bank appear to be inextricably linked. Although definitions of these two concepts are by no means universal, the contexts in which opinions are formed about these notions are significant. What meaning do these concepts have to Palestinians? How are these ideals examined and debated in a society that has remained under occupation for more than half a century? To answer these questions, this article explores the results of an original, representative public opinion survey (n=832) conducted in the West Bank in the summer of 2013, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Accords. The results point to high levels of cynicism towards human rights and democracy. I argue that the reason for this is directly related to exposure to the Israeli occupation, its policies, and a feeling of disenchantment with humanitarian organizations funded by governments that take no meaningful action to end the occupation.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44490062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study creates an index that reveals the extent to which Western European countries accommodate Islamic traditions and practices. The index covers six realms in which Muslim communities seek accommodation: (1) education, (2) chaplaincy services, (3) mosques, (4) cemeteries, (5) Islamic attire, and (6) halal food. The study examines and quantifies the state policies in twenty Western European countries on both national and municipal levels with a particular focus on actual implementation. Results indicate that Western European countries vary widely in terms of their accommodation of Islam. There are also notable within-country differences, due in part to regional governments, as they also make and/or implement policy decisions. Both between- and within-country variations in the accommodation of Islam reveal a variety of nuances, and blur dual categories, such as ethnic-civic and assimilationist-integrationist.
{"title":"State Policies toward Islam in Twenty Countries in Western Europe: The Accommodation of Islam Index","authors":"S. Kaya","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study creates an index that reveals the extent to which Western European countries accommodate Islamic traditions and practices. The index covers six realms in which Muslim communities seek accommodation: (1) education, (2) chaplaincy services, (3) mosques, (4) cemeteries, (5) Islamic attire, and (6) halal food. The study examines and quantifies the state policies in twenty Western European countries on both national and municipal levels with a particular focus on actual implementation. Results indicate that Western European countries vary widely in terms of their accommodation of Islam. There are also notable within-country differences, due in part to regional governments, as they also make and/or implement policy decisions. Both between- and within-country variations in the accommodation of Islam reveal a variety of nuances, and blur dual categories, such as ethnic-civic and assimilationist-integrationist.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45805038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Scholarship on personal status law systems in Muslim-majority countries stresses the challenges facing women’s rights activists seeking to reform family laws. Yet, little research is done on how Islamic family law systems, being inherently pluralistic, could enable activists to challenge hegemonic hermeneutical understandings of Islam. This article draws from a qualitative study of a decade and a half long campaign to reform divorce laws in Egypt to argue that dual legal systems, like the Egyptian one, enabled women’s rights activists to push forward novel hybrid rights claims, despite the structural and discursive constraints they faced. Grounding those claims in the context of Egypt’s pluralistic family law system and shrewdly negotiating multiple legal orders, including alternative interpretations of Islamic Shari’a and national codes, women’s rights activists successfully utilized the cultural power of legal pluralism. The success of this campaign demonstrates the ways in which the institutional and discursive dimensions of a pluralistic family law system in Egypt provided a surprising resource for reform. On a theoretical level, the case study presented in this article highlights the complex legacy and consequences of legal pluralism on women’s rights within culturally and politically constrained settings.
{"title":"Law, Culture, and Mobilization: Legal Pluralism and Women’s Access to Divorce in Egypt","authors":"Hind Ahmed Zaki","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Scholarship on personal status law systems in Muslim-majority countries stresses the challenges facing women’s rights activists seeking to reform family laws. Yet, little research is done on how Islamic family law systems, being inherently pluralistic, could enable activists to challenge hegemonic hermeneutical understandings of Islam. This article draws from a qualitative study of a decade and a half long campaign to reform divorce laws in Egypt to argue that dual legal systems, like the Egyptian one, enabled women’s rights activists to push forward novel hybrid rights claims, despite the structural and discursive constraints they faced. Grounding those claims in the context of Egypt’s pluralistic family law system and shrewdly negotiating multiple legal orders, including alternative interpretations of Islamic Shari’a and national codes, women’s rights activists successfully utilized the cultural power of legal pluralism. The success of this campaign demonstrates the ways in which the institutional and discursive dimensions of a pluralistic family law system in Egypt provided a surprising resource for reform. On a theoretical level, the case study presented in this article highlights the complex legacy and consequences of legal pluralism on women’s rights within culturally and politically constrained settings.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67053755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Managing the issue of a Muslim minority has been an important question for some Western democracies over the last 50 years, and different states have implemented varying frameworks to grant some sort of group autonomy to Muslim minorities in a show of support for diversity. In recent years, however, scholarly analysis of these frameworks has exposed some of the vulnerabilities women from Islamic minorities face when navigating personal status systems. This article explores some of those frameworks and the ways democratic nations grapple with the rights granted to women under a human rights agenda, and the conflicting tension between these rights and the rights of women in Islamic personal status law. This article will focus particularly on Islamic inheritance laws and the way these laws interact with the legal systems of India and the United Kingdom. Part I will address the conflict between theories of liberal multiculturalism and feminism, and discuss the common desire for Muslim minorities to exercise some sort of control in the areas of personal status laws (being marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance). Parts II and III seek to contextualize and outline women’s rights within both the general international human rights framework and the Islamic inheritance law framework. Parts IV and V will then explore the two different ways that India and the United Kingdom grant autonomy to Islamic minorities and address vulnerabilities women face in a human rights context. Analysis of these systems will show that it remains questionable whether they comply with each country’s international law obligations. Finally, Part VI of this article will outline a proposed working model drawing on Shachar’s intersectionist approach to recognize and prioritize the multiple identities of Muslim women and the necessity for inter and intra group dialogue in resolving tensions between minority rights and the rights granted to women within the human rights framework.
{"title":"Do Islamic Succession Laws for Muslim Women Violate the Current Human Rights Framework? Developing an Ethical Working Model for Muslim Minority Nations","authors":"Brooke Thompson","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0017","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Managing the issue of a Muslim minority has been an important question for some Western democracies over the last 50 years, and different states have implemented varying frameworks to grant some sort of group autonomy to Muslim minorities in a show of support for diversity. In recent years, however, scholarly analysis of these frameworks has exposed some of the vulnerabilities women from Islamic minorities face when navigating personal status systems. This article explores some of those frameworks and the ways democratic nations grapple with the rights granted to women under a human rights agenda, and the conflicting tension between these rights and the rights of women in Islamic personal status law. This article will focus particularly on Islamic inheritance laws and the way these laws interact with the legal systems of India and the United Kingdom. Part I will address the conflict between theories of liberal multiculturalism and feminism, and discuss the common desire for Muslim minorities to exercise some sort of control in the areas of personal status laws (being marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance). Parts II and III seek to contextualize and outline women’s rights within both the general international human rights framework and the Islamic inheritance law framework. Parts IV and V will then explore the two different ways that India and the United Kingdom grant autonomy to Islamic minorities and address vulnerabilities women face in a human rights context. Analysis of these systems will show that it remains questionable whether they comply with each country’s international law obligations. Finally, Part VI of this article will outline a proposed working model drawing on Shachar’s intersectionist approach to recognize and prioritize the multiple identities of Muslim women and the necessity for inter and intra group dialogue in resolving tensions between minority rights and the rights granted to women within the human rights framework.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67054087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper focuses on the reproductive function of women from an Islamic religious perspective. It aims to depict motherhood as it is imaged in some verses of the Qur’an with the objective of understanding how the Islamic Tradition positions the feminine with regards to maternity. Motherhood is not all a bundle of joy and the Qur’an clearly acknowledges that pregnancy, as well as childbirth, are painful events that mothers live with much difficulty; meanwhile, some verses portray maternity as an act of deep spirituality, mingled with an intellectual awareness of the role to be undertaken and much feelings. Through a thorough study of some verses of the Qur’an, I will undertake a deep literary analysis with the objective of outlining maternity from an Islamic perspective. The objective is to answer one major question at the core of the feminist debate: is motherhood an acknowledged only a biological destiny that is incumbent on women as a duty meant for the species’ survival and therefore rather a burden hindering women’s full engagement as productive agents in society or contribution by women and thus a feminine particularity to defend.
{"title":"Motherhood in the Islamic Tradition Rethinking the Procreative Function of Women in Islam","authors":"Maha Badissy","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0019","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper focuses on the reproductive function of women from an Islamic religious perspective. It aims to depict motherhood as it is imaged in some verses of the Qur’an with the objective of understanding how the Islamic Tradition positions the feminine with regards to maternity. Motherhood is not all a bundle of joy and the Qur’an clearly acknowledges that pregnancy, as well as childbirth, are painful events that mothers live with much difficulty; meanwhile, some verses portray maternity as an act of deep spirituality, mingled with an intellectual awareness of the role to be undertaken and much feelings. Through a thorough study of some verses of the Qur’an, I will undertake a deep literary analysis with the objective of outlining maternity from an Islamic perspective. The objective is to answer one major question at the core of the feminist debate: is motherhood an acknowledged only a biological destiny that is incumbent on women as a duty meant for the species’ survival and therefore rather a burden hindering women’s full engagement as productive agents in society or contribution by women and thus a feminine particularity to defend.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67053729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The topic of the rights of women is a contentious and diverse one; it continues to fuel debates in both Muslim-majority and other countries. In principle, all agree that women are entitled to rights. However, particularly in Muslim-majority countries, there is a fierce debate about how and to what extent women are entitled to certain rights. On the one hand, some scholars advocate for the rights of women without deference to gender inequality or discrimination in comparison with men, while on the other hand, other scholars try to defend the inequalities and discriminations that arise from religious or cultural norms. In this regard, the literature relating to the status of women’s rights in the Muslim-majority countries gives rise to vigorous criticism. Much of this criticism relates only to the domestic laws of specific countries and their interaction with the broader international human rights norms. Although there is some discussion about the status of women’s rights in the Maldives, this discussion occurs only in Non-Governmental Organizations (both local and international) and in international forums; apart from an occasional passing mention of the Maldives in other areas of debate, thus far, there has been no academic discourse devoted to the rights of women in the Maldives and their relationship to the international human rights norms of equality and non-discrimination. This article contributes to filling this gap by studying the status of the two norms of international human rights – equality and non-discrimination, in the Maldivian context. The study hypothesises that there are potential tensions within these two norms arising out of the incorporation of Islam in the Maldivian Constitution and that these tensions can be harmonized through the techniques and tools of Islamic Shari’ah. The research finds that a maqasid-oriented ijtihad (al-ijtihad al-maqasid) could be the most suitable method for easing the tensions arising out of qat’iatil dilala (the explicit rulings in the Quran and Sunnah); in the case of tensions falling under zanni (speculative) sources, the tools of takhayyur and talfiq could bring harmony to the tensions arising. It is suggested here that these methods be used for the reforming and interpretation of laws and by way of fulfilling the international obligations of the Maldives. This article concludes by discussing the challenges and recommendations for overcoming the challenges in order to achieve the main objective of resolving the potential tensions between the Maldivian law and the international human rights norms of equality and non-discrimination.
{"title":"Islamic Shari’ah and the Rights of Women: The Maldives’ Thirst for International Human Rights Norms of Equality and Non-Discrimination","authors":"Shamsul Falaah","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The topic of the rights of women is a contentious and diverse one; it continues to fuel debates in both Muslim-majority and other countries. In principle, all agree that women are entitled to rights. However, particularly in Muslim-majority countries, there is a fierce debate about how and to what extent women are entitled to certain rights. On the one hand, some scholars advocate for the rights of women without deference to gender inequality or discrimination in comparison with men, while on the other hand, other scholars try to defend the inequalities and discriminations that arise from religious or cultural norms. In this regard, the literature relating to the status of women’s rights in the Muslim-majority countries gives rise to vigorous criticism. Much of this criticism relates only to the domestic laws of specific countries and their interaction with the broader international human rights norms. Although there is some discussion about the status of women’s rights in the Maldives, this discussion occurs only in Non-Governmental Organizations (both local and international) and in international forums; apart from an occasional passing mention of the Maldives in other areas of debate, thus far, there has been no academic discourse devoted to the rights of women in the Maldives and their relationship to the international human rights norms of equality and non-discrimination. This article contributes to filling this gap by studying the status of the two norms of international human rights – equality and non-discrimination, in the Maldivian context. The study hypothesises that there are potential tensions within these two norms arising out of the incorporation of Islam in the Maldivian Constitution and that these tensions can be harmonized through the techniques and tools of Islamic Shari’ah. The research finds that a maqasid-oriented ijtihad (al-ijtihad al-maqasid) could be the most suitable method for easing the tensions arising out of qat’iatil dilala (the explicit rulings in the Quran and Sunnah); in the case of tensions falling under zanni (speculative) sources, the tools of takhayyur and talfiq could bring harmony to the tensions arising. It is suggested here that these methods be used for the reforming and interpretation of laws and by way of fulfilling the international obligations of the Maldives. This article concludes by discussing the challenges and recommendations for overcoming the challenges in order to achieve the main objective of resolving the potential tensions between the Maldivian law and the international human rights norms of equality and non-discrimination.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67053980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that the AKP government in Turkey is carrying on a strategy of securitization (Buzan, B., O. Wæver, and J. de Wilde. 1998. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers) of the Kurdish minority. This strategy, thought to be to the benefit of Turkish democracy and indeed to the goals of the AK party itself, is not conducive to more stability and democracy, but on the contrary is jeopardizing the practice of democratization in Turkey. Following the arguments of Wæver (1995), Roe (2004. “Securitization and Minority Rights: Conditions of Desecuritization.” Security Dialogue 35 (3):279–94.), and Aradau (2004. “Security and the Democratic Scene: Desecuritization and Emancipation.” Journal of International Relations and Development 7:388–413) the article also recommends that in order to go back on the path to democracy and stability, Turkey would need either to de-securitize the Kurdish issue, “manage” its securitization with liberal democratic forms, or create politics of universality and recognition, in a new emancipatory course. The importance of this study is based on the fact that the failure or success of democracies, especially in Muslim countries as the Arab Spring has shown, depends often on the exclusion or inclusion of ethnic, religious, or political minorities by the elites (see Egyptian, Iraqi, and Turkish democratic regression versus Tunisian and Indonesian progresses). This study therefore argues that with the securitization of Kurds, among other things, Turkey is going backwards on its path towards a meaningful and substantial democracy. This is particularly worrisome due to Turkey’s membership in NATO – meaning Turkey is not only a member of a collective defense organization but also part of a group of countries that share the values of democracy – and in the process of EU candidacy. Unfortunately, the intensification of the securitization after the end of the ceasefire in summer 2015 coincided with the war in Syria and the refugee crisis in Europe, and so the EU recently reduced the pressure on Turkish domestic issues, representing Turkey as a bastion against DAESH-ISIS expansion and also a buffer zone for millions of refugees. This, indirectly, contributed to the recent re-securitization of the Kurdish minority in Turkey. The methodology followed in this research is based on two main theoretical approaches: the concept of inclusiveness in democracies and the securitization theory, as well as on an historical excursus of the treatment of the Kurdish minority by the Turkish Republic and since the recent events of summer 2015. The article starts with an introduction on the concept of inclusiveness in democracies and on the Turkish history of exclusion of ethnic minorities, specifically the Kurds. Later, following the securitization theory, the study analyzes the past and current securitization of the Kurdish minority as the element that is jeopardizing democratic rule in Turkey. Fi
摘要本文认为土耳其正发党政府正在实施一项证券化战略(Buzan, B.， O. w . æver, and J. de Wilde, 1998)。安全性:一个新的分析框架。博尔德:Lynne Rienner出版社)的库尔德少数民族。这一战略被认为有利于土耳其的民主，实际上也有利于正义与发展党本身的目标，但它不利于更加稳定和民主，相反，它正在危及土耳其的民主化实践。继Wæver(1995)、Roe(2004)的论点之后。证券化与少数人权利:非证券化的条件。[j] .安全对话35 (3):279-94 .]安全与民主场景:非安全化与解放。《国际关系与发展杂志》(Journal of International Relations and Development)，第7章第388 - 413节)，文章还建议，为了回到民主与稳定的道路上，土耳其要么需要将库尔德问题去证券化，用自由民主的形式“管理”其证券化，要么在新的解放进程中创造普遍性和承认的政治。这项研究的重要性是基于这样一个事实，即民主的成败，特别是在阿拉伯之春所显示的穆斯林国家，往往取决于精英对种族、宗教或政治少数群体的排斥或包容(参见埃及、伊拉克和土耳其的民主回归与突尼斯和印度尼西亚的进步)。因此，本研究认为，除其他事项外，随着库尔德人的证券化，土耳其正在走向有意义和实质性的民主道路上倒退。这尤其令人担忧，因为土耳其是北约成员国，这意味着土耳其不仅是一个集体防御组织的成员，而且是一个拥有共同民主价值观的国家集团的一部分，而且土耳其正在申请加入欧盟。不幸的是，2015年夏季停火结束后，证券化的加剧恰逢叙利亚战争和欧洲难民危机，因此欧盟最近减轻了对土耳其国内问题的压力，将土耳其视为对抗DAESH-ISIS扩张的堡垒，也是数百万难民的缓冲区。这间接促成了最近土耳其库尔德少数民族的再证券化。本研究采用的方法基于两种主要的理论方法:民主国家的包容性概念和证券化理论，以及土耳其共和国对待库尔德少数民族的历史考察，以及2015年夏季最近发生的事件。本文首先介绍了民主国家包容性的概念，以及土耳其排斥少数民族(特别是库尔德人)的历史。随后，根据证券化理论，分析了库尔德少数民族过去和现在的证券化是危及土耳其民主统治的因素。最后，文章总结了有关非证券化、证券化过程管理和解放政策的政策建议，认为这是土耳其重返民主化轨道的唯一途径。
{"title":"From a History of Exclusion to the Securitization of the Kurdish Issue: A Step of Democratic Regression in Turkey","authors":"Maurizio Geri","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that the AKP government in Turkey is carrying on a strategy of securitization (Buzan, B., O. Wæver, and J. de Wilde. 1998. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers) of the Kurdish minority. This strategy, thought to be to the benefit of Turkish democracy and indeed to the goals of the AK party itself, is not conducive to more stability and democracy, but on the contrary is jeopardizing the practice of democratization in Turkey. Following the arguments of Wæver (1995), Roe (2004. “Securitization and Minority Rights: Conditions of Desecuritization.” Security Dialogue 35 (3):279–94.), and Aradau (2004. “Security and the Democratic Scene: Desecuritization and Emancipation.” Journal of International Relations and Development 7:388–413) the article also recommends that in order to go back on the path to democracy and stability, Turkey would need either to de-securitize the Kurdish issue, “manage” its securitization with liberal democratic forms, or create politics of universality and recognition, in a new emancipatory course. The importance of this study is based on the fact that the failure or success of democracies, especially in Muslim countries as the Arab Spring has shown, depends often on the exclusion or inclusion of ethnic, religious, or political minorities by the elites (see Egyptian, Iraqi, and Turkish democratic regression versus Tunisian and Indonesian progresses). This study therefore argues that with the securitization of Kurds, among other things, Turkey is going backwards on its path towards a meaningful and substantial democracy. This is particularly worrisome due to Turkey’s membership in NATO – meaning Turkey is not only a member of a collective defense organization but also part of a group of countries that share the values of democracy – and in the process of EU candidacy. Unfortunately, the intensification of the securitization after the end of the ceasefire in summer 2015 coincided with the war in Syria and the refugee crisis in Europe, and so the EU recently reduced the pressure on Turkish domestic issues, representing Turkey as a bastion against DAESH-ISIS expansion and also a buffer zone for millions of refugees. This, indirectly, contributed to the recent re-securitization of the Kurdish minority in Turkey. The methodology followed in this research is based on two main theoretical approaches: the concept of inclusiveness in democracies and the securitization theory, as well as on an historical excursus of the treatment of the Kurdish minority by the Turkish Republic and since the recent events of summer 2015. The article starts with an introduction on the concept of inclusiveness in democracies and on the Turkish history of exclusion of ethnic minorities, specifically the Kurds. Later, following the securitization theory, the study analyzes the past and current securitization of the Kurdish minority as the element that is jeopardizing democratic rule in Turkey. Fi","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2016-0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67053915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article analyses existing biases – whether due to misinterpretation, culture or politics – in the application of women’s rights under Islamic Shari’a law. The paper argues that though in its inception, one purpose of Islamic law may have aimed at elevating the status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, biases in interpreting such teachings have failed to free women from discrimination and have even added “divinity” to their persistent subjugation. By examining two case studies – Saudi Arabia and Egypt – the article shows that interpretative biases that differ in application from one country to the other further subject women to the selective application of rights. Dictated by norms, culture and tradition rather than a unified Islamic law, the paper shows how culture and politics have contributed to such biases under the pre-text of Islamic dictate. As such, it proposes a re-examination of “personal status” laws across the region in light of international human rights norms.
{"title":"Women’s Rights in Islamic Shari’a: Between Interpretation, Culture and Politics","authors":"Dina Mansour","doi":"10.1515/mwjhr-2012-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2012-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article analyses existing biases – whether due to misinterpretation, culture or politics – in the application of women’s rights under Islamic Shari’a law. The paper argues that though in its inception, one purpose of Islamic law may have aimed at elevating the status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, biases in interpreting such teachings have failed to free women from discrimination and have even added “divinity” to their persistent subjugation. By examining two case studies – Saudi Arabia and Egypt – the article shows that interpretative biases that differ in application from one country to the other further subject women to the selective application of rights. Dictated by norms, culture and tradition rather than a unified Islamic law, the paper shows how culture and politics have contributed to such biases under the pre-text of Islamic dictate. As such, it proposes a re-examination of “personal status” laws across the region in light of international human rights norms.","PeriodicalId":35445,"journal":{"name":"Muslim World Journal of Human Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/mwjhr-2012-0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67053258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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