HUMAN RIGHTS VERSUS HUMAN DUTIES
Spirit of Islam, Aug 2015, p. 29
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
HUMAN RIGHTS VERSUS HUMAN DUTIES Seek Your Rights Through Duty T HE United Nations Organization (UNO) is the largest official body covering the greater part of all people on the face of this planet. Comprising of 192 member countries, it formally represents almost all of the nations on the globe. Its present headquarters are situated in Manhattan, New York, USA. Mr. Trygve Lie served as the first Secretary General of the UN and, at present, this position is held by Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly passed a historic resolution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Declaration proved to be the trendsetter for generations to come. Since then, most movements with human rights as their target were launched on a similar pattern. There were protests all over of human rights being violated. But there is a question: Why do these human rights activists fail to achieve their declared goal of establishing ideal justice in all societies? History shows that these activists have made very little headway in their struggles. Their activism is reduced to being protesters rather than achievers. What is the reason for this failure? The reason is that this Declaration is not in consonance with the law of nature, according to which, everyone enjoys freedom. This very freedom stands as a permanent hurdle in the path of establishing ideal justice in society. Instead of making history, those standing up for human rights have done little other than compose litanies of complaints and protests. This is because they do not plan how to achieve their goal. It is but natural that human rights can never exist in an ideal manner in any society. The concept of social equality is found only in the If society were characterized by uniformity and equality on a permanent basis, the atmosphere of challenge would disappear. If there were no challenges, the process of intellectual development would cease.

‹ Previous page Next page › About this issue Open in the reader