Can we find common ground between Sharia law and international standards of human rights? What would a moderate Islamic human rights theory look like that both respects Sharia principles and international principles of human rights? The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the Arab Charter on Human Rights as the primary tool for the protection of human rights in the Arab countries. The author presents the Arab Charter in the context of its sources and objectives, embedded in Sharia law, which is the foundation on which the legal systems of most Arab countries are built. Among the questions answered in this volume are the following: To what extent are human rights inherent in Sharia? To what extent is Sharia compatible with international standards of human rights? How can we reduce tension and promote cooperation between the Western and the Arab world by encouraging a constructive dialogue on human rights? Does the Arab Charter provide a sufficient level of human rights protection today, in line with international standards of human rights? If not, what can and should be done to promote and protect human rights more effectively via the Arab Charter without putting it in conflict with Sharia? Should the Arab Charter and its institutions look to the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights and/or the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms for inspiration? What are specific steps that could and should be taken to strengthen the effectiveness of the Arab Charter and its institutions? The author is a judge at the Egyptian Ministry of Justice (currently seconded to the Ministry of Justice in Qatar). He served as Chief Prosecutor at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Egypt. He was also a representative of the Egyptian Public Prosecution at the National Coordinating Committee for Combating Corruption. The author holds a Bachelor of Laws from Cairo University, as well as an LL.M. and a J.S.D. degree from Saint Thomas University, Miami, Florida. He was a Fulbright scholar at Saint Thomas University as well as a Chevening Scholar at Oxford University. He is a visiting lecturer at a number of universities in Cairo.
