An-Na’im’s Thought Studies On Human Rights

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’ im is recognized as a leading figure in Islamic thought of human rights on an international scale. His theory of human rights is with profound thinking and deep cultural heritage, and conforms to the realistic requirement of Muslim social development. It has a profound practical significance for the protection of Muslim human rights and the localization development of international human rights norms. Based on the analysis An-Na’ im’s life and the background,this thesis attempts to probe into explore multi perspective on the thought of An-Na’ im human rights with literature synthesis method and interdisciplinary study. From his literature to tease out the origin of the idea of human rights and the main content. This article has three parts of An-Na’ im human rights, the universality of human rights, the teaching reform in human rights and the secular state under construction of human rights. Firstly, He focuses on the current international trend, actively advocates the universality of human rights, and emphasizes the development of cultural diversification in Islamic world. And he believes that only in the two ways such as inter-Islamic dialogue and cross-cultural communication can the people get human rights in the real sense. An-Na’ im clearly recognizes that in order to realize the inter-Islamic dialogue and the dialogue with different cultures, it needs the appropriate coordination of Islamic tradition and modernity, so as to eliminate these rules inconsistent with the development of modern society and Islamic spirit. Based on such premise, in the second part, he puts forward the modern reform of Islamic law, and tries to re-explain and reapply traditional Islamic law, and provides the appropriate coordination of "Shar’a" and national law. In the last, he puts forward a theory of weakened secularism, he believes that the relationship between Islamic human rights and secularization is an issue cannot be avoided in his thought of human rights, so he believes that Muslim needs a secular state where the government should remain neutral and allow cultural diversification. The human rights practice in Islam should be ensured by the cooperation among human rights, religion and secularism, and should be based on civic reason guaranteed by constitutionalism, human rights and civic rights. As a human rights academician with a fusion of modern and traditional knowledge and with a linking-up of Islamic culture and western culture, An-Na’ im’s thought of human rights becomes an important method affecting the modern theory construction of Islamic human rights. The cross-cultural theory of Islamic human rights put forward by An-Na’ im provides new ideas for the development of modern human rights in Muslim world and the communication among different cultures.