.... In English, the standard work on the subject is Ann Elizabeth Mayer's book, Islam and Human Rights. Mayer explains:
"One of the most striking and consistent features in all the Islamic human rights schemes is the use of Islamic criteria to restrict human rights. Provisions in the Islamic human rights schemes reflect the thesis that the rights afforded in international law are too generous and that these only become acceptable when Islamic restrictions are placed on human rights to cut them down to size."
These "Islamic" limitations are not clearly defined though they often refer vaguely to the principles of sharia law – which itself is not formally codified and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. In practice, this amounts to cherry-picking with regard to which rights are accepted or rejected. [www.al-bab.com] Read more
