Al'Adalah
Vol. 29 No. 1 (2026)

Reframing minority protection in Islamic law: Equal citizenship, human dignity, and international human rights norms

Mohamed Ahmed Zakaria Shehata (Institute of Arab Research and Studies, Cairo, Egypt)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Minority protection in Muslim-majority societies remains a critical issue because it intersects classical Islamic legal thought, constitutional citizenship, and international human rights norms. Existing scholarship has examined the protective function of ahl al-dhimmah, the ethical relevance of karamah insaniyyah and maqasid al-shariah, and the relationship between Islamic law and international human rights. However, these approaches remain fragmented and have not sufficiently integrated critiques of status-based protection with dignity, equal citizenship, and the implementation gap. This article aims to reconstruct minority protection in contemporary Islamic law through the framework of dignity-based equal citizenship. It employs normative-doctrinal legal research using conceptual, philosophical, and maqasidi approaches, supported by analysis of Islamic legal concepts, human rights norms, and contemporary scholarship. The study finds that classical protection of non-Muslims contained important ethical and historical resources, but its status-based structure is inadequate for the modern constitutional state. It further shows that karamah insaniyyah, maqasid al-shariah, adaptive ijtihad, and international human rights norms can be integrated into a more substantive model of protection. The article concludes that minority protection should be reframed not as conditional tolerance, but as equal citizenship grounded in dignity, justice, public welfare, and institutional responsibility.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

aladalah

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Education Social Sciences

Description

This journal aims to publish original research articles on Islam and Muslims, especially Islamic thoughts, doctrines, and practices oriented toward moderation, egalitarianism, and humanity. The journal articles cover integrated topics on Islamic issues, including Islamic philosophy and theology, ...