International Religious Freedom Act 1998 and the Issues of Religious Freedom in Muslim Countries

Mohd Lotpi, Mohd Yusob and Mohd Afandi, Salleh and Rabiatul Adawiyah, Mohd Ariffin and Abdul Majid Hafiz, Mohamad (2016) International Religious Freedom Act 1998 and the Issues of Religious Freedom in Muslim Countries. In: 5th International Conference on Law and Society 2017, 18-19 Apr 2016, Pattani, Thailand.

[img] Text
FH03-FUHA-17-08940.pdf
Restricted to Registered users only

Download (301kB)

Abstract

In the late 20th centuries, the increasing international emphasis on the recognition of religious freedom had led the United States drew up the International Religious Freedom Act (1998) in October 1998. The Act aims to improve the ability of United States to advance religious freedom through its foreign affairs. However, after almost 18 years of its establishment, it is important to highlight that IRFA’s report had focused on Muslim-majority countries. In fact, many Muslim countries were classified as “Countries Particular Concern” (CPC) which equivalent to violators of religious freedom. The objective of this article is to study critically the result on the report of IRFA with particular regard to Muslim countries. The paper contends that, U.S. government had given too much attention on Muslim countries rather than other countries. We argue that, though the law has the potential to be a useful tool for United States in protecting religious freedom, the result of IRFA report in meddling affairs of Muslim-majority states is the major flaw. The paper will also examine, at glance, on the concept of religious freedom within the framework of maqasid al-shariah (the objectives of Shariah law).

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
K Law > K Law (General)
K Law > KF United States Federal Law
Divisions: Faculty of Law & International Relations
Depositing User: Muhammad Akmal Azhar
Date Deposited: 02 Nov 2020 03:41
Last Modified: 02 Nov 2020 03:41
URI: http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/id/eprint/923

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item