Islamic law, also known as Shari’ah law, is one of the most complex and multifaceted, yet easily misunderstood areas of law. It is complex because its subjects, but not limited to, human rights, politics, religion, economics, and criminal. Islamic law is also misunderstood because it is greatly understudied and grossly over-generalized. This regretfully has lead to a situation where Islamic law is often characterized as an inhumane and discriminatory set of laws which have no respect for human rights. The questions that remain to be answered are whether or not there is a human rights discourse in Islamic law, and is Islamic law compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its two subsequent International Covenants? The aim of this paper is to ascertain whether or not Shari’ah law, as it has been reflected in the Islamic human rights documents discussed, is compatible with universal human rights standards.

Islamic law, also known as Shari’ah law, is one of the most complex and multifaceted, yet easily misunderstood areas of law. It is complex because its subjects, but not limited to, human rights, politics, religion, economics, and criminal. Islamic law is also misunderstood because it is greatly understudied and grossly over-generalized. This regretfully has lead to a situation where Islamic law is often characterized as an inhumane and discriminatory set of laws which have no respect for human rights. The questions that remain to be answered are whether or not there is a human rights discourse in Islamic law, and is Islamic law compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its two subsequent International Covenants? The aim of this paper is to ascertain whether or not Shari’ah law, as it has been reflected in the Islamic human rights documents discussed, is compatible with universal human rights standards.