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How Islamic Law protects Human Rights and tackles social exclusion – pioneering research

Thursday 12 January 2006

A ground breaking research project on Islamic Law, land and human rights carried out by an internationally acclaimed research team from the University of East London (UEL) working with the United Nations, has been endorsed by experts at a recent Arab Ministerial Conference. The Arab Conference on Urban-Rural Development, organised by the UN Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the League of Arab States, held in Cairo on 15-18 December 2005, passed a resolution formally recognising the work as a foundation for new strategies in the region.

Human Rights in Islam: Law, Property and Access to Land is the result of a pioneering year-long in depth study of Islamic human rights principles in relation to land and property carried out by Dr. Hilary Lim and Mr. Siraj Sait at UEL’s School of Law. The project was funded by UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlement Programme) in the first ever formal collaboration between the UN and an academic institution in relation to the study of Islam.

Siraj Sait, who leads the Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies postgraduate programme at UEL and is currently on secondment at UN-HABITAT in Kenya, said: “About twenty percent of the world’s population is Muslim, but there has been little systematic policy oriented research in this important field.

“Our research covered the complex and interlinking areas of Islamic law, human rights, land tenure, women’s rights, inheritance, endowment, and Islamic banking and finance".

Hilary Lim added: "Practices vary from place to place, but our study identifies distinctly Islamic legal concepts which potentially offer innovative, flexible, pro-poor and inclusive strategies for tackling a range of issues affecting society today.”

The paper’s findings have already been presented at high level international meetings at Stockholm and Bangkok, organised by the UN, the World Bank, and other leading international organisations. It has won endorsement from a range of major international and regional institutions, including Al Azhar in Cairo, the world’s oldest university and the highest seat of Islamic scholarship in the Muslim world.

Human Rights in Islam: Law, Property and Access to Land by Siraj Sait and Hilary Lim is published by Zed books later in the year. A summary is available through the UN-HABITAT web site http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/landtenure/publications.asp.

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For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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