Religion, Human Rights and International Law: A Critical Examination of Islamic State Practices (review)

Contained in this multi-authored collection are many valuable case studies; curiously, they are largely unrelated to the “Islamic State Practices” mentioned in the subtitle. Among other topics, the chapters touch on various dimensions of the predicaments of Muslim minorities in Western countries, controversies over requirements of freedom of religion, human rights problems in Pakistan, asylum policy, and India’s caste system. Often religion recedes into the background as sociological and political issues come to the fore. Not only do the subjects vary widely, but the quality also varies; the many chapters offering illuminating scholarship by experts are set off against some weaker chapters.

The case studies on Muslim minorities in the West are generally excellent. A trenchant critique of Western systems of protecting religious freedom is offered by Alice Diver and John Thompson. They show how these systems accommodate subtle forms of discrimination, such as restrictions on locations and delays in permits for constructing places of worship for Muslims and others outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. They characterize these practices as indirect forms of persecution, ones that may be facially neutral but mask Western prejudices. Such restrictions tend to evade scrutiny because they are not covered in international human rights instruments, which do not unconditionally protect the right to worship in public. Showing empathy for the grievances of Muslim minorities, the chapter concludes that denial of sacred space to minorities amounts to a counterproductive denial of identity rights and equal citizenship.

Victoria Montgomery’s chapter has the witty title “Are You a Protestant or a Catholic Muslim? The Path of Muslim Integration into Northern Ireland.” This reflects a sharply bifurcated community where one is expected to belong either to the Protestant majority or to the large Catholic minority, with only 1 percent of the population belonging to the “other” category. In a region that is dominated by tensions between Protestants and Catholics, Muslims are little more than a footnote. Local attitudes in this relatively remote region have been shaped by processes of global interconnectedness. Non-Muslims embrace negative stereotypes about Muslims being linked to terrorism while, at the same time, Muslims are concerned about the sufferings that Western military interventions have inflicted on their coreligionists in countries like Iraq. Montgomery presents a careful assessment of potential ways of dealing with minority issues, thoughtfully exploring the pros and cons offered by models of assimilationism, liberal integration, and multiculturalism, none of which guarantee ideal results. Meanwhile, she posits that the absence of an inclusive Northern Ireland identity will lead to perpetuating the perception that local Muslims are foreigners.

Alexandra Xanthaki probes how the United Kingdom deals with its Muslim minority, which feels stigmatized by Islamophobia. Her background concern is arriving at policies that minimize the alienation that feeds extremist currents in Muslim communities. Xanthaki carefully explores the hotly contested dimensions of pluralism and multiculturalism, proposing “a dialog process that includes different elements of the society, a process where groups are conceived as equal partners rather than mere negotiators or imitators of the dominant groups.”¹ According to her, in the interests of progress, minorities must endorse dialogue and acknowledge that their own culture will evolve along with the national culture.

Ben Chigara dissects issues that are raised as Western states seek to maximize their discretion in dealing with individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism. As Chigara sees it, in this context, Muslims have been effectively relegated to the status of sub-humans who are now precluded from claiming full human rights. Chigara argues passionately against the proposition that any category of human beings may be denied the full protections of international human rights law in the interests of protecting national security. According to Chigara, one of the ominous aspects of the “war on terror” is that it has categorized human rights as the terrorist’s refuge. He warns of dangerous constitutional and cultural trends in the West that could lead to states becoming...