Religion as a Mechanism of Control had a very productive role in Early Civilizations, as the only way to provide law, and structure to the early societies. Islam (ic societies) is probably going through the same stage as Christianity in Dark Ages, what is unusal is an apparent and dramatic backwardation from Moores time that once Mighty Islamic Civilusation has endured..
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In the last decades, various Islamic organisations have themselves formulated declarations of human rights. They have one basic difference to those of Western statements, however, in that they give priority to the Koran and to the Sharîa (Islamic law). Therefore, human rights can only be guaranteed in these countries under the conditions imposed by these two authorities and their regulations. Article 24 of the l990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights, for example, states that "All rights and freedoms mentioned in this statement are subject to the Islamic Sharîa", and Article 25 adds, "The Islamic Sharîa is the only source for the interpretation or explanation of each individual article of this statement". This emphasizes the "historic role of the Islamic Umma[2], which was created by God as the best nation, which has brought humanity a univeral and well-balanced civilisation, in which harmony between life here on earth and the hereafter exists, and in which knowledge accompanies faith."[3]
What is the signficance of the priority of the Koran and the Sharîa? It means, that in the Islamic states, human rights only exist within the limits of the religious values of Islamic revelation. They are guaranteed, however, within the framework determined by the Koran and Islamic law. The secularized Westerner, molded by the Enlightenment and accustomed to separation of Church and State, has difficulties understanding that a country's political and social goals are determined by the standards of religion. |
