Politics 
A Brief History of Minority Rights
A Brief History of Minority Rights
A Brief History of Minority Rights
Murtaza Shaikh
Nov 12
|19:50
Last Updated on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:42
This is the second article in the series on minority rights of Muslims in the West. While the first article explained why we need to know more about minority rights, this article will discuss what they are and their historical development.
This is the second article in the series on minority rights of Muslims in the West. While the first article explained why we need to know more about minority rights, this article will discuss what they are and their historical development. Subsequent articles will then look at how they can be applied to Muslims in the UK and Europe, God willing. This is crucial if we are to defend our religious identity and express our collective voice through official channels which, ultimately, will allow us to attain nearness to God.
Minority rights are relatively new and form part of international human rights law. Human rights are based on the belief that lack of meaningful equality lies at the root of all oppression and injustice. The additional need to address differences in cultural identity through minority rights came about largely as a result of the horrific war between the Bosnians, Croats and Serbs of former Yugoslavia. This compelled the need for a new set of rights to prevent such atrocities from recurring.
Since 1945, the United Nations system has recognised sections of society as especially vulnerable, providing specific protection through dedicated treaties against racism[1] as well as to women,[2] victims of torture,[3] children,[4] migrant workers,[5] disappeared persons[6] and the disabled.[7] Notably, no such treaties exist on religious discrimination or on the protection of minorities at the global level. One reason was that minority treaties agreed following the First World War were not respected by the great powers. Secondly, Adolf Hitler used the mistreatment of the German minority in the Sudetenland to declare war against former Czechoslovakia, arguably sparking the Second World War. Both undermined the importance of minority rights in preventing conflict.
The Genocide Convention[8] was the only minority-related treaty drafted after 1945 and resulted from the need to respond to the Holocaust.[9] Advocated by the prominent Polish Jew, Raphael Lemkin, the Convention defined Genocide as any “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” It did not give any rights to minorities but only criminalized their mass murder. With no court of its own and the need to establish genocidal intent, enforcement was near-impossible. Neither did it help that those implicated often hold the highest offices in Government or military, putting them further beyond reproach.[10]The Genocide Convention instead served as a symbol of the Holocaust and its greatest legacy, according to Lemkin himself, was to brand what Winston Churchill had called a “crime without a name.”[11]
Minorities have also sought to rely on the right of self-determination.[12] However, in origin, it was only intended to be the legal principle used to justify decolonisation. While the process created many new States, other nations became minorities in one or more States, like the Baluch or the Kurds. Historically, the right to self-determination has been denied to such groups beyond the colonial context, because States fear they will eventually want to become independent.
Both the crime of Genocide and the right to self-determination provide an inadequate framework for the protection of minorities. They both failed to address the root causes of conflict by not giving any weight to the protection and preservation of cultural identity.
The only place in international law where such cultural rights of minorities were recognised prior to the 1992 Yugoslavian Civil War was in Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It states,
“In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.”
It explicitly refers to religious minorities and ascribes rights for the practice of their religion.
States have interpreted “shall not be denied” as referring to a duty not to interfere with the religious life of minorities. Whereas, activists have used the ambiguity of “shall not be denied” to argue that States should fund the establishment of places of religious worship and education.
The subsiding of the Cold War and the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992 forced the international community to revisit the question of minority rights, leading to three major developments in three separate international organisations building on ICCPR Article 27. The United Nations passed the Declaration on Minorities.[13] Simultaneously the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe[14] established the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities to mediate tensions before their escalation into violent conflict. The Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM)[15] followed in 1995 after intense negotiation between member-States of the Council of Europe. This along with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)[16] are the most advanced, progressive and extensive rights available to religious minorities in Europe. The European Court of Human Rights is the most powerful international human rights court in the world. Its judgments have a real effect on the national laws of the UK and other European States, and thus, the ECHR is the most effective tool against the Government when it comes to defending against Islamophobia. To this end, it guarantees freedom to practice our religion, despite some controversial decisions relating to the wearing of the hijab.
When it comes to protecting the cultural identity of minorities then we must turn to the FCNM. It has no court, but States are required to submit regular reports on their compliance to an Advisory Committee. They then deliver Opinions after conducting visits as well as meeting with minority groups to assess their condition. It is also possible for minority organizations to submit reports challenging the State’s assertions. Its introduction acknowledges that,
“...a pluralist and genuinely democratic society should not only respect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of each person belonging to a national minority, but also create appropriate conditions enabling them to express, preserve and develop this identity.”
The FCNM does not give a definition of ‘minority’ and to date no internationally agreed definition exists. However we can still infer that a minority has to fit into one of the classifications: ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious. So other vulnerable groups such as women may not refer to themselves as minorities under international law since they have no cultural identity as such. Indeed the FCNM has incredible potential for Muslims to engage the environment around them as it establishes many ground-breaking rights for religious minorities. The foremost of these is the right to self-identify. In other words identity cannot be imposed on anyone. This should be followed up by the right to express, preserve and develop this identity as a community. This means that in our case, the UK is obliged to promote conditions necessary for us to develop our Islamic identity and preserve essential practices.
Furthermore minorities should be protected against religiously motivated attacks and Article 8, which, in being essential for Muslims, requires States to,
“...recognise that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to manifest his or her religion or belief and to establish religious institutions, organisations and associations.”
Integration policies should refrain from practices aimed at assimilating minorities and should instead encourage intercultural dialogue in education, culture and the media. States should also take measures to foster knowledge of the culture, history, language and religion of their minorities.
In the field of education the FCNM requires States to provide adequate opportunities for teacher training and access to handbooks, and facilitate contacts among students and teachers of different communities. Equal opportunities must be promoted so that minorities can access education at all levels. Minorities also have the right to set up and to manage their own private educational and training establishments.
States are meant to create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs. Could any of us have imagined that we may have the right to ask for reserved seats in Parliament or a separate Chamber where we discuss and decide on matters that only concern Muslims in the UK? This is the precise potential of such laws.
What do these rights mean in practice? How can they be implemented? Are we even eligible for them? These are important questions that as yet have no definitive answers. However we must begin by understanding the context in which we want to apply them. The next article will look at the treatment of Muslims in the UK, God willing.
Note: The comments and feedback received for the previous article were greatly appreciated. Please continue to do so for this and forthcoming articles. This will also help determine what issues you would potentially like to be discussed in the future.
Notes:
Source: www.islam21c.com
[3] Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987).
[5] International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (2003)
[7] International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2008).
[9]A horrific and unique atrocity which entailed the extermination, according to Dr Steve Paulsson, of as many as 15 million civilians from vulnerable social and ethnic groups, most of whom were Jews. According to Niewyk, “The Nazis also killed millions of people belonging to other groups: Gypsies, the physically and mentally handicapped, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, political prisoners, religious dissenters, and homosexuals,” (Niewyk, Donald L., The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust, Columbia University Press, 2000, p.45).
[10]There was no attempt to prosecute under the offence until the establishment of the ad-hoc criminal tribunals of Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The International Criminal Court indicted Omar Al Bashir, the President of Sudan, for genocide in July 2010 after refusing in March 2009. He is yet to be arrested. Radovan Karadžić was charged with genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, but is yet to be convicted.
[11]See Lemkin, R., Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation — Analysis of Government —
Proposals Redress (Washington, D.C., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1944) and Schabas, W. A., Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000).
[13] Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities (1993).
[14] The OSCE is more expansive than the Council of Europe and the EU, including Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
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Free Our Schools
written by Iftikhar Ahmad, November 18, 2010
Free Our Schools
Almost all children now believe they go to school to pass exams. The idea that they may be there for an education is irrelevant. State schools have become exam factories, interested only in A to C Grades. They do not educate children. Exam results do not reflect a candidate’s innate ability. Employers have moaned for years that too many employees cannot read or write properly. According to a survey, school-leavers and even graduates lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. More and more companies are having to provide remedial training to new staff, who can’t write clear instructions, do simple maths, or solve problems. Both graduates and school-leavers were also criticised for their sloppy time-keeping, ignorance of basic customer service and lack of self-discipline.
Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system in England. There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. Now the time has come that parents and community should take over the running of their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector. Parents can perform a better job than the Local Authority because parents have a genuine vested interest. The Local Authority simply cannot be trusted.
The British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt out” from the Local Authorities. Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and Jews in recent times in Palestine. Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society. Muslim schools are attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and boundaries. Bilingual Muslim children need Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods, who understand their needs and demands.
None of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the London bombings had been to Islamic schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of 300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. A Cambridge University study found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys. They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades. The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes.
Iftikhar Ahmad
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
written by Iftikhar Ahmad, November 18, 2010
Free Our Schools
Almost all children now believe they go to school to pass exams. The idea that they may be there for an education is irrelevant. State schools have become exam factories, interested only in A to C Grades. They do not educate children. Exam results do not reflect a candidate’s innate ability. Employers have moaned for years that too many employees cannot read or write properly. According to a survey, school-leavers and even graduates lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. More and more companies are having to provide remedial training to new staff, who can’t write clear instructions, do simple maths, or solve problems. Both graduates and school-leavers were also criticised for their sloppy time-keeping, ignorance of basic customer service and lack of self-discipline.
Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system in England. There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. Now the time has come that parents and community should take over the running of their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector. Parents can perform a better job than the Local Authority because parents have a genuine vested interest. The Local Authority simply cannot be trusted.
The British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt out” from the Local Authorities. Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and Jews in recent times in Palestine. Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society. Muslim schools are attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and boundaries. Bilingual Muslim children need Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods, who understand their needs and demands.
None of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the London bombings had been to Islamic schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of 300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. A Cambridge University study found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys. They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades. The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes.
Iftikhar Ahmad
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
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Does the belgian, french and spanish banning of niqaab come into all this? isnt it illegal according to the ECHR?