Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
Encyclopedia
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law
. His specialties include human rights
in Islam and cross-cultural issues in human rights, and he is the director of the Religion and Human Rights Program at Emory. He is also a senior fellow of Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion
. An-Naim was formerly the Executive Director of the African bureau of Human Rights Watch
. At present he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Migrant Rights. He argues for a synergy and interdependence between human rights, religion and secularism, instead of a dichotomy and incompatibility between them.
In February 2009, An-Na`im received an Honorary Doctorate from the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve) and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven, Leuven), Belgium. He also serves as Global Legal Scholar at the Law School, University of Warwick, UK (until August 2010); and Extraordinary Professor at the Centre for Human Rights
, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
(until December 2010).
Born in 1946, An-Naim is originally from Sudan
, where he was greatly influenced by the Islamic reform movement of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha
. He is a naturalized American citizen, but retains Sudanese citizenship.
Emory University School of Law
Emory University School of Law is a first-tier US law school that is part of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. It is ranked #30 among ABA-approved law schools by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report...
. His specialties include human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Islam and cross-cultural issues in human rights, and he is the director of the Religion and Human Rights Program at Emory. He is also a senior fellow of Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion
Center for the Study of Law and Religion
The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia is dedicated to studying the religious dimensions of law, the legal dimensions of religion, and the interaction of legal and religious ideas and institutions, norms and practices...
. An-Naim was formerly the Executive Director of the African bureau of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
. At present he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Migrant Rights. He argues for a synergy and interdependence between human rights, religion and secularism, instead of a dichotomy and incompatibility between them.
In February 2009, An-Na`im received an Honorary Doctorate from the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve) and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven, Leuven), Belgium. He also serves as Global Legal Scholar at the Law School, University of Warwick, UK (until August 2010); and Extraordinary Professor at the Centre for Human Rights
Centre for Human Rights
The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908 and consists of five academic departments, six centers, a law clinic and it's own publisher the Pretoria University Law Press...
, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
(until December 2010).
Born in 1946, An-Naim is originally from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, where he was greatly influenced by the Islamic reform movement of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha
Mahmoud Mohamed Taha
Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, also known as Ustaz Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, was a Sudanese religious thinker, leader, and trained engineer. He was executed for apostasy at the age of 76 by regime of Gaafar Nimeiry....
. He is a naturalized American citizen, but retains Sudanese citizenship.
Author
- Muslims and Global Justice. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press (2010).
- Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a. Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press (2008).
- African Constitutionalism and the Contingent Role of Islam. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press (2006).
- Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights and International Law. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1990 (soft-cover edition by American University in Cairo, 1992). Translated in Arabic (1994), Indonesian (1995), Russian (1999), and Persian 2003.
- Sudanese Criminal Law: General Principles of Criminal Responsibility (Arabic). Omdurman, Sudan: Huriya Press, 1985.
Editor
- Human Rights Under African Constitutions: Realizing the Promise for Ourselves. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
- Islamic Family Law in a Changing World: A Global Resource Book. London: Zed Books, 2002.
- Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa. London: Zed Books, 2002.
- Proselytization and Communal Self-Determination in Africa. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999.
- Universal Rights, Local Remedies: Legal Protection of Human Rights under the Constitutions of African Countries. London: Interights, 1999.
- The Cultural Dimensions of Human Rights in the Arab World (Arabic). Cairo: Ibn Khaldoun Center, 1993.
- Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: Quest for Consensus. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
Co-editor
- With Ifi Amadiume: The Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice. London: Zed Books, 2000.
- With J. D. Gort, H. Jansen, & H. M. Vroom: Human Rights and Religious Values: An Uneasy Relationship? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
- With Francis Deng: Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1990.
Translator
- Arabic translation: Francis Deng: Cry of the Owl (a political novel). Cairo: Midlight, 1991.
- English translation with an Introduction: Ustadh Mahmoud Mohamed Taha: The Second Message of Islam. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1987.
Foreword
- Foreword in Pranoto Iskandar, Hukum HAM Internasional, Cianjur: The Institute for Migrant Rights Press, 2010.
Related Media
- Video Presentation Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of the Religious Law of Islam. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (September 5, 2007).
- Video Presentation Conversations With History: Islam and the Secular State (May 3, 2010).
External links
- An-Naim's personal website
- An-Naim's CV
- Prof. An-Naim's 'Conversations with History' video interview with Prof. Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies at U C Berkeley
- Prof. An-Na'im's advocacy project, The Future of Shari'a: Secularism from an Islamic Perspective
- The Synergy and Interdependence of Human Rights, Religion and Secularism by Abdullahi A. An-Na'im
- Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University
- The Institute for Migrant Rights