Islam and Human Rights — Page 197
Prevalent Attitudes Towards Human Rights Among Muslims 197 began to be treated as objectionable innovations, were denounced as heresies and when, in the view of the favoured divines, they touched on matters which had been pronounced by them as essentials of belief, were condemned as apostacy involving the extreme penalty. As already observed, this juridiction did not extend to non-Muslims. They were completely free to believe as they chose. Article 21 The Quran had enjoined “Verily, Allah commands you” that administration should be carried on through the exercise of the franchice ( 4:59) and in consultation with the representatives of the people (3:160). It had warned that this was “the most excellent method” and should, therefore, not be departed from. But a shift towards monarchy started after the first four Khalifahs, and the Khilafat took on more and more the complexion and trappings of monarchy. Among the lines of Heads of State in Damascus and Baghdad, and later in Cordova. Granada, Fez, Cairo, Delhi, Istanbul and several other capitals, there followed a whole galaxy of brilliant, wise and beneficent rulers and ad ministrators, simple, pious, devoted and God-fearing; they “enjoined equity