Philosophy 19

“All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination […]. True faith is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human perfection.”

Quote: The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) Picture: Decorative logo from p. 2 of Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. Quelle: Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS).

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation

The quote comes from the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam. It was adopted by the Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 1990. It was the result of criticism that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was "a secular interpretation of the Judeo-Christian tradition" and therefore could not be followed by Muslims without violating their own law, according to the Iranian representative to the United Nations, Said Rajaie-Khorassani, in 1981. The Cairo Declaration is therefore explicitly based on Islamic Sharia law. This creates a tension that is also expressed in the quote. On the one hand, human dignity is guaranteed "without discrimination of any kind" - explicitly including discrimination based on "religious belief" - while on the other, "true faith" is the "guarantee for the enjoyment of such dignity".

*Eva Brems (2001): "Islamic Declarations of Human Rights", in: Human rights: universality and diversity. Vol. 66 of International studies in human rights. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 241-284. *Jonathan Russell (10th Dec 2012): The Universal Declaration vs The Cairo Declaration, LSE.

1990