Democracy and Human Rights in Islam

Available for the first time in English, this volume by the preeminent theorist Rached Ghannouchi examines the concepts of democracy and human rights from an Islamic perspective. Drawing on over 50 years of writing and practice, Ghannouchi introduces the framework of “democratic Islam” as an alternative to other interpretations of Islam that either seek to impose a historical understanding of Islam without adaptation to contemporary contexts or dismiss the relevance of Islamic teachings. Democracy and Human Rights in Islam analyses the concept of freedom based on a thorough examination of religious texts and jurisprudence and develops a theory for the centrality of freedom in Islam. Ghannouchi argues for interpreting the Quran and Sunnah in light of contemporary needs to build a normative foundation for democratic political institutions based on respect for human dignity, choice and reason, and guarantees for freedom of conscience, belief, expression, movement, and other individual freedoms and rights. Democracy and Human Rights in Islam shows that developing a model of governance that eschews political repression and violence and embraces democracy and human rights is the only means towards revival and advancement in the Muslim world.