Islam and Human Rights: A 50-Year Retrospective

Islam and Human Rights: A 50-Year Retrospective

Public talk by Nader Hashemi, Associate Professor; Director of the Centre for Middle Studies, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, USA

When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 — 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM (MST)
Where: Telus Centre, University of Alberta, Room 134

You can register for the event here.

Abstract
The debate on Islam and human rights is roughly 50 years old. During this time, a vast literature has been produced analyzing the relationship between the religion of Islam, Muslim societies and international human rights norms. What have we learned during this time that can further an understanding of this topic among students, scholars and members of the general public? What analytical framework is optimal? Is the crisis of human rights in Muslim societies a function of internal social conditions and external factors, or are they to be located within the framework of Islamic doctrine, traditions, and the shariah in particular? This lecture grapples with these questions by looking back over the past five decades on the global debate on Islam and human rights.

Bio.
Dr. Nader Hashemi is Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. His publications include Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009); The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and Iran’s Struggle for Democracy (New York: Melville House, 2011), edited with Danny Postel; The Syria Dilemma (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013), edited with Danny Postel; Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017); Islam and Human Rights, volume 1 (London: Routledge, 2022), edited with Emran Qureshi; (and Iran’s Green Movement: A Political and Intellectual History (Oxford University Press/Hurst & Co., forthcoming).