The Rights of Religious Minorities in International Legal Documents and Islamic Shariah

Abstract

The right of religious minorities is one of the most important rights of human beings through which people can freely perform their religious practices and worship without any fear. According to international documents, no state party to international covenants and conventions is permitted to discriminate against religious minorities. In most countries, there are lots of religious minorities who live as citizens or as migrants. Both need the protection of the state, and should be treated equally in accordance with laws. Fortunately, Islam also supports the rights of religious minorities and protects the rights of all those non-Muslims who live in the Islamic territory by the name of "Dhimmis", who also have to respect the rules and regulations of Islam. The doctrinal research methodology and a descriptive, explanatory, and analytical research approaches are used in this work. It is worth mentioning that this research study is entirely based on library sources. Most of the sources are reputable and trustworthy textbooks, scholarly published and unpublished journal articles, law reports, and online websites related to the research area. Additionally, the position of Islamic jurisprudence has also been clarified regarding the rights of minorities.