Earlier this week I posted the message that I received in response to the questions I had posed to the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center regarding the HRC’s new Islamic Law and Human Rights Program. I posted the message from HRC co-director Kristi Rudelius-Palmer under the heading “Translate this.” Here is Ms. Rudelius-Palmer’s message:
Dear Scott,
Thanks for your email. I have been traveling and apologize for not responding sooner. The Islamic Law and Human Rights program is one of a number of programs run by the Human Rights Center. The Center’s complete funding sources are detailed in its annual report, which can be found at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/center/report.html.
Among other things, the Center supports research and teaching on the relationship between different legal traditions and international human rights norms. The new program will look at the relationship between Islamic law and international human rights. The Center partners with a wide variety of organizations interested in human rights, many of which are listed on the Center’s website. I trust that the program’s goals will become clearer once the program has had time to develop.
Sincerely,
Kristi Rudelius-Palmer
Human Rights Center Co-Director
University of Minnesota Law School
Over at Classical Values, Eric Scheie has posted his quick translation (with links to the HRC site):
Help facilitate the destruction of human rights (which is what Sharia Law does) while claiming to be promoting “Human Rights.”
I think it’s fair to say that the text permits this translation, but it isn’t the only one that could be made of it. And the translation makes a good stab at bringing clarity to an intentionally obscure text.
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