Abstract

Human Rights have in the past been defined legalistically, a practice that tends to restrict their full import, and renders them inaccessible to those who need them. In this essay, I attempt to operationalize human rights without necessarily tying such rights to the legal meaning often attached to them. Definitions of `dignity,' 'access to resources,' `equality,' and `entitlement' are worked out in relation to the local context while simultaneously drawing on the aspirational model of Human Rights that I have developed in this slum area within the city of Salé in Morocco. My research is guided by not only this aspirational concept of Human Rights, but also by Islam as an open and evolving entity and a fan of meanings that structures people's lives. The second component of this project is an examination of the sum of religious beliefs and practices that inform and structure the life of individuals in this slum. I try to establish what Islam is in its life-world dimension, particularly for the slum inhabitants, as a way of understanding and explaining their living conditions. The objective is to locate and emphasize the possible links and compatibilities between Islam and Human Rights in keeping with An-Na'im's postulations. This work then aligns itself with the line of inquiry which probes into the particularity and the preparedness of a context to adopt and/or translate Human Rights in a language that is dear and clear to its members.