446 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 11:3 Seminars, Conferences, Addresses Law, Culture, and Human Rights: Islamic Perspectives in the Contemporary World 20-21 Jumiidii al Awwal 1414/5-6 November 1993 Yale Law School, New Haven, CT This conference, unfortunately, lacked focus and direction. The conference brochure and posters were the first indication that distressing leaps of association were going to be made. One wondered why, for example, Malcolm X, Y asser Arafat, and Saddam Hussein were pictured on the brochure when their actions and ideas were in no way related to anything disclls.5ed in the conference. And why was a picture of a jubilant Seminars, conferences, Addressees 447 Hanan Ashrawi set beside a miserable looking woman in a black chador? This ctass vi-1 melange of "Islamic" figures would not have been so significant if the conference had been more focused, but this was not the case. Still, there were a number of interesting debates and discussions. The inclusion of a panel of medievalists was one strange feature of the conference. While Joseph van Ess's paper on the role of the hdi- vidual in medieval Islamic cultme was intensting, it was anachronistic in a conference on contemporary human rights. As I listened to Michael cook's talk on "ul 'Amr bi ul Mu'I1sf and Human Rights" (fmm a medieval perspective), I recalled a statement by an Exeter scholar that orientalists mlize fundamentalists' wildest dreams when they leap back a thousand years to explain current events. It is hard enough to deal with Muslims who want to a medieval political order without having Cook offer a few of his own suggestions. The conference began on Saturday with lectures by Abdullah an- Naim (Human Rights Watch) and Abdelwahab el-Affendi (London). The two Sudanese scholars presented very different visions of the ideal incorporation of human rights codes into Muslim societies. An-Naim began from the premise of the universality of human rights, saying that the norms embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) should take precedence over the Shari'ah when the two conflict. An-Naim argued that the Shari'ah is a human construct and thus can be recoflstNcted to accord with human rights norms. This does not mean that all human rights laws will be interpreted identically thtoughout the world, for such terms as "cruel and unusual punishment" will be interpreted differently by states. As a d t , an-Naim believes that the Islamic hudcd laws should not necessarily be forbidden by the UDHR, although traditional concepts of mitigating circumstances and procedud limitations must be enforced or extended. An-Naim recognized that any human rights code must enjoy cultural legitimacy in order for it to work as a normative system. Historically, calls for ijtihad may be seen as attempts to ground human rights norms in Muslim Societies, but an-Naim is frustrated that serious institutional refom has not been attempted by Muslim leaders. An-Naim also criticized the "double discourse" practiced by Muslim leaders: they appear to support human rights when addressing non- Muslims but speak differently when addressing their circle of supporters. He was particularly critical of Hasan a1 Turabi whose theoretical writings and public lectures seem to support human rights. Yet, since gairring poli- tical power, he has supported incteasing restrictions on freedom of speech and the dismantlement of civil organizations in Sudan. El-Mendi responded in his lecture to some of an-Naim's statements by saying that he cannot be accused of "double discourse" as his views s e m i n r t J , C o n f c x e a w s , A ~ 449 Vidatetruaurn?igfrts,tbeySti~a#noCcanvincedthatthe~O€V~Of the united Nations in their d c s will improve theit situaricm. Most Mustims want cmstitutional pmkctkms against rights violatiom by their own govarm#nts, but b y have no confidenee that the United Natiaw will enforce sucii pmt.ec&ms fairly. J u d ask the Bodans about tht united NatMns' d in upmoiding humatl rights. Respocldiag to Arsanjar$'s talk, Frank Vogd (Harvatd, Cadridge, MA) uguad fota l s s s b e l l i g ~ tone2 inhuman ti* d i s c d ~ Vogd said drat the "univ&* vctsus "nlstivist* debate was a tad h d n g . What was needed, aatEet, was detaikd study of the implement& 'on of various legal cobcs. He said that Donald HorpwitZ (Dub, D w NC) was on the right track when he examined the ptac4ice of Islamic law in Asia and showed how it convetged with common law. Vogel tried to d e n t the discdon by mtlinhg the direction law has taken in the M d m w d . He pointed out that, while medieval themy gave natr abmhxte powet to the ndw, vatious i n & u t i o n s - e i y the 'ulama- served as chcdcs on that p e r . In d m times, howcwz, these checks we* swept away by colonialists who knew whae theit d opposition lay. This has left the Musiifg world with three choices if it wants to limit state cantral over individuals: to ntum to medieval imtitutions (which is viltually imposibte), to accept a sheocrcbcy (which is a deviation frotH klamic history, fm state aM1 d i g b u s power was, as a de, sqmmte), or to create new institutions arad syskms. Vogel said that the fututr: is open for new interpretations of Islanaic law; the only seious limit is tb bieadth of the i-ons of Muslim thinkeff. Abdulaziz SadEedula ' ( v n i v d t y of Virginia, chsrlottcmilk, VA) discussed "'he Crisis of W e E$stcmology in Islamic JurispIudenot." He argued for a paw inclusion of womtn in legal discanse on the basis of the q u i - for cktemining muwqtu''iiz ("objectsa or "situa- tiorrr"). He pointad out that legal theory does not place knowledge of mtlwdrs'lrt undet the realm of aqia, but lather, has presctibcd drat individual investigation of muw&l'ut must be undettakea. Given this - t2odudd that womcn must have the right to 1 1 6 1 s ~ ~ ~ their particular social situations and to determine legal applications in acconiance with thcir sasc of priorities. Another speaker an "Women's Rights in Islam" was Fcdwa Malti- Douglas (Indiana Univetsity, B l d n g o n , IN), who prcsa&d a com- pafativestudy of two booksby mMnbetsof the " I s l a m i s t m o v ~ " 'Ihe first text, Rifildn bi al @winF, was written by Kariman Hamza, a P romitmt activist who has appeared an Esrptian teltvisiorr. The dhet book, Mahi& ... Ya' &i&h al @win?: h d i i '016 Kit& Rtfm bi al (EaWfi, was writtar by Yusriyya Muhemmad Anwar in fespnsc to 450 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 11:3 Hamza's book Malti-Douglas illustrated how Hamza's approach to male- female relations stressed the emotional factors in attraction. Deempha- sizing the notion of exposure and covering, Hamza's narratives imply that danger comes from emotional vulnerability followed by physical proximity. In this scheme, Malti-Douglas says, women rn not reduced to "a collectiOn of parts to be covered," but are active participants in a "world of middle-class temptations." Anwar responded to Hamza's book with a reinvocation of the traditional view of women which relegates the entire body of women to 'uwuh and places them in a category with Satan. Like medieval male writers, Anwar invoked the Qur'anic story of Joseph to "prove" the essential nature of "women's guile." Malti-Douglas' exposition of Anwar's attack on Hamza's book highlighted important trends among vatious groups in the Islamist movement. If we cannot get beyond the medieval misogynic views of women and their "nature," there is little hope that we can extend the legal rights and political participation of Muslim women. Ingrid Mattson Kitchener, ON, Canada The contents appearing in this publication are indexed by For further information, please contact: Dr. Munawar A. Anees, Editor-in-Chief, Periodica lslamica 22 Jalan Liku, 591 00 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel(+60-3)282-5286 Fax (+60-3)282-1605