The relationship between human rights and Islam is important in countries of the Arab world where religion plays a significant role in public debates and daily life. The topic is particularly relevant at a time of sharpening conflicts and polarization, when forms of government in the region, the current world order, and the legitimacy of international organizations are increasingly contested. Much of the scholarly work published in English on this topic draws on sources available in English. This review, therefore, aims to make a contribution to the field through analysis and discussion of academic papers published in Arabic. A search was made in Google Scholar in April 2022 which yielded 12 publications published in 2020 and 2021, after inclusion and exclusion criteria had been applied. These publications were analyzed drawing on the four framing categories. A summary is also given of the definitions, sources, and premises on which the arguments of the publications draw. The reviewed papers contrast the universal and divine foundation of Islamic human rights with the limitations of modern conceptualizations based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The latter is described as emanating from Western hegemonistic aspirations and as detached from moral and spiritual values. The papers consequently argue that human rights would be guaranteed globally by generalizing a system of governance based on Shari’a law and the ideal of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Little attention is given to human rights abuses observed in Muslim societies, diverse interpretations of Islamic source texts, or concrete measures to improve human rights protections in practice. Importantly, the arguments presented in these papers tend to reinforce a contemporary discourse that frames conflicting visions on human rights as a ‘clash of civilisations’ between ‘Islam’ and ‘the West’.

Education, the backbone of any nation’s development, demands the presence of not only infrastructure and facilities but also a peaceful environment. The war in Yemen has had a strong, negative impact on education. In our study, we employed narrative inquiry and developed a structured interview guideline to explore the experiences of school teachers and leaders regarding the war’s impacts on education. After collecting and analyzing one hundred written narratives, we developed and conducted a semi-structured interview with four female and six male school teachers and leaders to answer the study questions. The findings highlighted the displacement and discrimination, the use of children as fighters for the future, the conflict of identities among children, the destruction of children’s physical and mental health, the exploitation of education for financial benefits, the normalization of negative behaviors, and the destruction of teacher’s dignity. These findings were also conceptualized in a simple model that showed the interaction of these war impacts on the teachers and learners. Further, focusing on how the domestic cultural and social contexts interact with these impacts is necessary to enhance understanding, solidarity, and tolerance among individuals and achieve a peaceful and cohesive society.

This study primarily draws on genetic structuralism in unraveling social transformations embedded in short stories written by Egyptian authoresses. It also makes use of feminist concepts given that the content in question is written by Egyptian women writers and hence blends general social transformations with those affected by feminism. Four Egyptian authoresses were selected for this study along with samples of their literary works, written between 2011 and 2017, in an attempt to unpick the social transformations taking place in the short story during that critical period. The study shows that social transformations begin with the subject that is aware of those transformations embedded in the short story and taking different forms. It, in addition, underlines the impact and significance of the setting and how it is used by the women writers to locate and shed light on those transformations. Moreover, there are two types of social transformations, namely negative transformation, embodied in the deterioration of social relations or any undesired behavior, and positive transformation, characterized by the awareness of the subject of the sources of power in relation to the act of change and the influence of the revolutionary action on it. In addition, feminist conceptions are shown to be used in resisting male dominance and its relation to social oppression.

This study primarily draws on genetic structuralism in unraveling social transformations embedded in short stories written by Egyptian authoresses. It also makes use of feminist concepts given that the content in question is written by Egyptian women writers and hence blends general social transformations with those affected by feminism. Four Egyptian authoresses were selected for this study along with samples of their literary works, written between 2011 and 2017, in an attempt to unpick the social transformations taking place in the short story during that critical period. The study shows that social transformations begin with the subject that is aware of those transformations embedded in the short story and taking different forms. It, in addition, underlines the impact and significance of the setting and how it is used by the women writers to locate and shed light on those transformations. Moreover, there are two types of social transformations, namely negative transformation, embodied in the deterioration of social relations or any undesired behavior, and positive transformation, characterized by the awareness of the subject of the sources of power in relation to the act of change and the influence of the revolutionary action on it. In addition, feminist conceptions are shown to be used in resisting male dominance and its relation to social oppression.

This study primarily draws on genetic structuralism in unraveling social transformations embedded in short stories written by Egyptian authoresses. It also makes use of feminist concepts given that the content in question is written by Egyptian women writers and hence blends general social transformations with those affected by feminism. Four Egyptian authoresses were selected for this study along with samples of their literary works, written between 2011 and 2017, in an attempt to unpick the social transformations taking place in the short story during that critical period. The study shows that social transformations begin with the subject that is aware of those transformations embedded in the short story and taking different forms. It, in addition, underlines the impact and significance of the setting and how it is used by the women writers to locate and shed light on those transformations. Moreover, there are two types of social transformations, namely negative transformation, embodied in the deterioration of social relations or any undesired behavior, and positive transformation, characterized by the awareness of the subject of the sources of power in relation to the act of change and the influence of the revolutionary action on it. In addition, feminist conceptions are shown to be used in resisting male dominance and its relation to social oppression.