3
2
2
And wrong not men of their things (or rights), and act not corruptly in the earth, making mischief (26:183)
Thus human rights abuses that are being committed from time to time by governments or ethnic groups are things that deserve strong condemnation from Islam.
12. This Islam rejects misogyny.
The Hadith-dominated traditional Islam treats women as inferior to men. The degrading way in which women are being treated in Muslim societies has been a major stumbling block not only to their development but also to overall development of Muslim countries. It is ironic that Muslim fundamentalists or puritans display a particularly demeaning attitude toward women, treating them “as a constant source of danger, and vulnerability for Islam,” and going “as far as branding women as the main source of corruption and evil” (Khaled Abou El Fadl). The Quran rejects this misogynistic treatment of women. The ideal vision of relationship between husband and wife that the Quran depicts is that of mutual love and respect, mutual comfort, kindness and support, and equality and complementarity (30:21; 4:19; 7:189; 25:74; 2:228). The Quran grants women rights over men similar to those of men over women (2:228). Virtuous persons see their spouses and children as comfort for them (25:74). The Quran, of course, grants some edge to men over women, but that is because of the sociological situation where men share a greater financial responsibility than women. If, however, financial responsibility is shared equally by them, men and women should be treated equally as well in matters of inheritance, for example, where discrimination between men and women is being maintained. (For a fuller discussion of these and other relevant points, the reader is referred to Chapter 8 of my book Exploring Islam in a New Light.)
13. This Islam strongly advocates doing justice to all, even to enemies.
The Quran strongly exhorts us to uphold the cause of justice, if necessary by testifying against ourselves, parents and relatives (4:135), and not to let the hatred (by implication, enmity or injustice) of others make us commit any injustice or stray from doing justice (5: 8), which implies ensuring justice to all without parochial or partisan considerations, or regardless of religious or ethnic affiliations. The Quran urges us to not bribe judges to immorally grab others’ property, or to distort justice (2:188). God urges us to give right measure and not to deprive others of their rights. He urges us to maintain proper criminal justice in society – to punish people proportionately to their crimes, and where appropriate to forgive them without jeopardizing the cause of justice.
14. This Islam rejects sharia-prescribed harsh (hudud) punishments.
This Islam rejects the cruel shariah-prescribed punishments such as the punishment by death for apostates, the punishment by stoning to death for adulterers and adulteresses; cutting limbs of thieves; etc. It is the Hadith, not the Quran, that prescribes the first two punishments. The cutting of limbs is an extreme or exemplary form of punishments for thieves, and that needs to be understood in a historical context. When society moves toward a more civilized way of life, the need for harsher punishments fades away. From that standpoint, limb cutting is a crude form of punishment that can be avoided without encouraging the crime. Some Muslim scholars think, the relevant word is not limb-cutting but limb-marking so that the culprits are well marked and humiliated in society (See Quran: A Reformist Translation by Edip Yuksel et. al.)
15. This Islam categorically condemns slavery and slavery-like practices.
This Islam is unequivocally against slavery and slavery-like practices, and human domination of one group over another group, and chauvinism and imperialism. Slavery is a most dehumanizing institution. A good Muslim will never enslave a person, but will rather free him or her, or keep him or her as an equal member of his family. Social egalitarianism is a major hallmark of Islam. This is the only way we evolve and elevate all men and help develop their latent talents and bring about all round progress in society. Ironically, slavery and slavery-like practices have long continued in Muslim societies, much longer than in Western societies (For example, the British government abolished slavery long ago.) because of ambiguous influence from the Hadith literature. The Hadith recommends emancipation from slavery, and at the same time permits it.
