On the 10th May 2015, the BBC broadcast a pre-recorded program, ‘The Big Questions’ celebrating 800 years of the Magna Carta (an agreement between wealthy Barons and the English Monarchy, to limit his powers). The program’s title for discussion was ‘Has Human Rights Law Achieved more than Religion?’, and features a lively one hour discussion on whether Human Rights is possible without religion, and whether religion is an obstacle to Human Rights – and does Secular understanding of Human Rights suffer from causing differences in interpretation, application and at times, injustice.
The guests invited to discuss and debate this question were:
Shami Chakrabarti (Liberty)
Abdullah al-Andalusi (Muslim Debate Initiative)
Peter Tatchell (LGBT and Human Rights campaigner)
Major General Timothy Cross, retired British Army officer
Andrew Copson (Director of British Humanists Association)
Reverend Lynda Rose, spokesperson for ‘Anglican Mainstream’
Rabbi Jackie Tabick, Reformed Judaism
Lez Henry, Poet and Writer and Lecturer in Criminology
Adam Wagner, Human rights and public law barrister
Michael Mumisa, Cambridge Scholar and Academic on Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Maryam Namazie (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain)
Link: http://thedebateinitiative.com/2015/05/10/bbc-debate-has-human-rights-law-achieved-more-for-humanity-than-religion-the-big-questions/
Brother Abdullah Andalusi did a good
job every time he replied but unfortunately he did not get enough time. Below are a list of some of the arguments
which the atheist promoters of human rights advocate against religion and since
I am a Muslim I would reply back keeping
Islam in perspective. Please note these replies are not a full thorough
rebuttals or refutations; rather these are some points which muslims could
grasp from and further elaborate or formulate their answers on. More so I am fully aware that these can be
answered in a variety of ways , even better but I hope this effort serves to be
useful in some ways at-least.
You can also find this debate on the
Bbc website.
Bbc website.
Table of Contents
Argument # 1 by Peter Tatchell (LGBT and Human Rights campaigner) : “For a Millennia, Organized religion has been complicit in the mass oppression of women, Gay people,
responsible for slavery, the inquisition, and many other abuses. “ Page 3
responsible for slavery, the inquisition, and many other abuses. “ Page 3
Argument # 2 by Andrew Copson (Director of British Humanists Association) One
of the best thing about human rights in particular about the universal
declaration (law) which you mentioned in the beginning is precisely that it is
not dependent on one particular culture, I think it is untrue to say it stands
from a Judaic Christian culture. One of the best things about the Universal
Declaration formed in the late 40’s (1940) that it draws in cultural
inspiration and authors from on all over the world, there are Confucianists
scholars there, there are Christian scholars there, there are humanists, legal
scholars and that blending of all that is best in human culture to produce this
[speech unclear] right is what is best and universalism about this human right
“ Page 5
of the best thing about human rights in particular about the universal
declaration (law) which you mentioned in the beginning is precisely that it is
not dependent on one particular culture, I think it is untrue to say it stands
from a Judaic Christian culture. One of the best things about the Universal
Declaration formed in the late 40’s (1940) that it draws in cultural
inspiration and authors from on all over the world, there are Confucianists
scholars there, there are Christian scholars there, there are humanists, legal
scholars and that blending of all that is best in human culture to produce this
[speech unclear] right is what is best and universalism about this human right
“ Page 5
Argument # 3 :