Tag Archives: human rights

Honor Killings and Ideas of Honor in Societies of Islamic Character

Honor killings take place today not only in the eastern part of Turkey. In Germany, too, and in the other countries of Europe, women die “for reasons of honor”. Till now, German criminal investigative departments do not compile any separate statistics, but unofficial statistics quote at least 49 honor killings or attempts at such in Germany between 1996 and 2005. The United Nations estimate that ca. 5000 honor killings (along with a high number of unreported cases) have been committed world-wide.

Islamic Human Rights under scrutiny

The frequent human rights abuses which take place in nearly all countries of the Muslim world are often the result of corrupt or dictatorial regimes and not necessarily due to either Islam or these countries’ view of human rights. Less widely known, however, is that international associations in Muslim countries have formulated their own human rights declarations in opposition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the Plenary session of the United Nations in 1948.

(Deutsch) Pressemitteilung zur Debatte um den islamischen Religionsunterricht

(Deutsch) B O N N (02. März 2009) – Als alarmierende Signale beschreibt Albrecht Hauser vom Institut für Islamfragen die neuesten Vorfälle rund um den islamischen Religionsunterricht in Österreich. Nach einer im Januar 2009 vorgestellten Studie des Islamwissenschaftlers Mouhanad Khorchide, in der er mehr als 200 der knapp 400 Islamlehrer Österreichs befragte, lehnen 21,9 Prozent der Lehrer die Demokratie ab. 27,1 Prozent halten die UN-Menschenrechtserklärung von 1948 für unvereinbar mit dem Islam und 18,2 Prozent äußerten Verständnis dafür, dass ein Muslim, der vom Islam abgefallen ist, mit dem Tod bestraft würde.

Defection from Islam: A Disturbing Human Rights Dilemma

The discussion of human rights flares up when Muslims in an Islamic country convert to Christianity and are threatened with death, as happened a few years ago in Afghanistan and as happens from time to time in other Muslim countries. In the West we immediately regard this as an attack on human rights and a restriction of the freedom of religion, but, in fact, almost all of the Islamic countries signed the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and they regard their actions as consistent with their understanding of human rights. Obviously we face a huge divergence of opinions on the nature of human rights and what it means to protect them, but what is the source of such fundamentally different ways of thinking?

Muslim Immigration to Europe

Globalization is a subject of great significance for Europe, too. The world has moved closer together. This is true also for the Islamic world and Europe. New chances for the shaping of a shared future in the twenty-first century, as well as challenges, result from this situation.

The Challenge of Islam: Are we equipped?

It would almost seem as though many people in Germany have only started taking notice of Islam since the terrorist attacks of September 11 shook the world. “Terrorism” and “The West” were, in the minds of many people, two separate worlds. Terrorism only happened in far – away countries, like Africa, Algeria, or the Middle – East. Since the aircraft attacks of “Nine-eleven”, and succesive terrorist attacks, often prevented in Europe by the security services, but succeeding in other parts of the world, this perception is changing. The awareness of the existence of Muslim extremism, and it’s potential threat, has increased.