THE RELIGION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND OTHER
RELIGIONS: ARE THEY COMPATIBLE?
By: Dr Mohammud Saeed Bahmanpour

(Continued) Apart from the centrality of God in Divine religions, what distinguishes the Islamic viewpoint of human rights from the current secular collection, namely the Declaration of Human Rights, regards the concept of human being, the bearer of arrays of rights. The selfseen in the latter is only an empty entity with the ability to understand the concept of the good life and act upon justice with no intrinsic requirement.

This, as many may have realized, is the Kantian notion of the self. In sharp contrast to this notion stands the Islamic viewpoint, which assumes that man's being is so shaped as to seek a connection with the absolute power, knowledge and beauty, i.e., God.

This special tendency towards perfection requires man to adopt some specific actions rather than others As an example, one might refer to the moral values such as modesty and chastity.

Modesty and chastity are two very central concepts of Islam and indeed of any religion. These concepts would limit the kind of relationship and freedom that each sex could have, both individually and with regards to the opposite sex. The code of hijab for women is a practical implication of this concept in Islam. Strict rulings and penalties for fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are among the other implications of such a conception. The Declaration of Human Rights not only fails to address this concern of the faithful, but also defies it with the loudest voice and considers the enforcement of such codes as an infringement of basic Human Rights. You might find some Muslims careless of such precepts considering them a traditional superstition rather than a compulsory observation.

There are even some Muslims, who call themselves secular Muslims, modern Muslims, intellectual Muslims, and the like, and consider all codes of practice in

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