In the book, Maududi argues that respect for human rights has always been enshrined in Sharia law (indeed that the roots of these rights are to be found in Islamic doctrine)[3] and criticises Western notions that there is an inherent contradiction between the two.[4]
Western scholars have, for the most part, rejected Maududi's analysis. Bielefeldt (2000)[5] characterises Maududi's argument as a "superficial and uncritical 'Islamization' of human rights" that fails to address tensions between human rights and shariah law.[6] In addition, he criticises Maududi for employing a narrow definition of equality that gives no consideration to what Bielefeldt considers "the two main issues over which traditional shariah and modern human rights collide": gender and religion.[6] Carle (2005) terms the book "influential", but echoes Bielefeldt's criticisms.[7]
^ Maududi, Human Rights in Islam, p. 10. "Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole ... ."
^ Maududi, Human Right in Islam, p. 13. "The people of the West have the habit of attributing every good thing to themselves and trying to prove that it is because of them that the world got this blessing ... ."
^ Carle, Robert (2005). "Revealing and Concealing: Islamist Discourse on Human Rights". Human Rights Review6 (3): 122–37. doi:10.1007/BF02862219. “Both Tabandeh and Mawdudi proceed to develop a synthesis between human rights and traditional shari‘a that conceals the conflicts and tensions between the two (p. 124).”
