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Refugee Rights in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law With Special Reference to The Non-Refoulement Principle

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 51 - 68, 29.12.2023

Abstract

Zorunlu göç (hicret) ile ilgili İslami, insani ve koruyucu ilkeler, İslam tarihi ve teorisinin önemli temalarındandır. İslam'da hicret gerçek bir insan hakkıdır. Hicret, bir görev ve bir hak olup kapsamlı ve etkili bir koruma sağlar. Kur'an-ı Kerim'in birçok ayeti ve çok sayıda Hadis (Hz. Muhammed'in (s.a.v.) sözleri) zorunlu göç ve mültecilerle ilgilidir. Hicret hukuku modern mülteci hukukundan oldukça farklıdır. Zorunlu göçmenlere (muhacirlere), özellikle sığınma hakkı, geri gönderilmeme ve korunma hakkı gibi daha fazla hak garanti eder. Modern uluslararası mülteci hukukunda, zorunlu göçmenlerin sığınma talep etme ve geri gönderilmeme hakları vardır, ancak sığınma alma hakları yoktur. Yani garanti edilen koruma oldukça sınırlıdır. Hicret hukuku ise uluslararası mülteci hukukunda yer alan geri göndermeme ilkesinin ötesine geçmektedir. Zorunlu göçmenler için sadece geri gönderilmeme hakkını değil, ev sahibi toplumun bir parçası olarak yaşama hakkını da garanti altına almaktadır. Ancak, barış ve güvenlik dünyası olması gereken günümüz İslam dünyası, çatışmaların ve zorla yerinden edilmenin dünyası haline gelmiştir. Zorunlu göç ve göçmenler söz konusu olduğunda, günümüz dünyası daha ziyade modern mülteci hukukuna atıfta bulunmakta, hicret ve muhacirlerle ilgili İslami öğretilere ve ilkelere pek değinmemektedir. Hicret hukuku gündeme alınıp uygulandığı takdirde, zorla yerinden edilmiş kişilere sağlanacak korunmanın geliştirilmesine ve geri gönderme de dahil olmak üzere şu anda karşı karşıya oldukları sorunların azaltılmasına büyük katkı sağlayabilir.

References

  • ABOU EL-WAFAA, A., The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: A Comparative Study, Press of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh, 2009.
  • ALBANESE F., TAKKENBERG A., Palestinian Refugees in International Law, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • ARNAOUT, G. M., Asylum in the Arab-Islamic Tradition, UNHCR/International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Geneva, 1987.
  • BETTS, A. and COLLIER, P., Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System, 1st edition, Allen Lane, 2017.
  • ELMADMAD, K. (in French) Asile et réfugiés dans les pays afro-arabes (Asylum in the Afro-Arabes Countries), Editons Eddif, Casablanca, Morocco, 2002,
  • ELMADMAD, K. (Ed.) (in French), Les Migrants et leurs droits au Maghreb (Migrants and their Rights in the Maghreb), Edition La Croisée des Chemins, Casablanca, 2004, see UNESCO web site :
  • ZAAT K., The protection of forced migrants in Islamic law, UNHCR publication, Geneva 2007, in: https://www.unhcr.org/media/protection-forced-migrants-islamic-law-kirsten-zaat
  • AKRAM, Susan M., ‘UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees’ in Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • ELMADMAD, K. Migration Law and Migrants’ Rights: an Underdeveloped Branch of Law: the Moroccan Experience, in OUCHO John O Editor,
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  • ELMADMAD, K. Asylum in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law, in Asylum and Islam, a Special issue of the Oxford Journal Refugees, Survey Quarterly, Volume 27, Number 2, 2008, Oxford University Press, pp.51-63
  • ELMADMAD, K. The Human Rights of Refugees with Special Reference to Muslim Refugee Women, in INDRA Doreen, Engendering Forced Migration:
  • Theory and Practice, Berghahn Books, New York and Oxford, 1998 pp 261-, 271
  • ELMADMAD, K. Asylum in Past and Present Morocco, in, Morocco: The Journal of Moroccan Studies, N° 2, 1992, published by the Centre of Near and Middle Eastern Studies,
  • The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, UK, pp.28-33.
  • ELMADMAD, K( in Arabic). Asylum in Sharia and in International Law, in a book in Arabic entitled: Human Rights: Practical Studies on the Arab World),
  • published by Mahmoud Charif BASSIOUNI, Mohammed Said ADDAKAK and Abdel Adim WAZIR, Dar Al-Ilm lil Malyin, Beirut, 1989, Volume 2, pp. 108-131.
  • AL-DAWOODY, A., The principle of non-refoulement under Islamic Law and International Law: Complementing International Legal Protection in Muslima Context,
  • Humanitarian Law & Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 2011,
  • EGYPT’S DAR AL-IFTA. A Journey to the real meaning of hijrah!”, at https://www.dar-alifta.org/en/article/details/1798/a-journey-to-the-real-meaning-of-hijrah
  • ELMADMAD, K., Asylum in the Arab World: Some Recent Instruments, in Journal of Peace Studies, Vol.6, Issue 1, Publication of the Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi, January-February 1999, pp.24-34
  • ELMADMAD, K., Asylum in Islam, Judaism and Christianity", in Africa Legal Aid Quarterly, Maastricht, Holland, January-March 1998, pp. 26-29
  • ELMADMAD, K., An Arab Declaration on the Protection of Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Arab World", in The Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol.6, No. 2, 1993, Oxford University Press, pp.173-175
  • ELMADMAD. K., An Arab Convention on Forced Migration: Desirability and Possibilities, in International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol 3, 1991, Oxford University Press, pp. 461-481
  • MARSHALL, L.W., Toward a new definition of 'refugee': Is the 1951 Convention Out of Date? Vol. 37, Issue 1, 2011
  • STEVENS, D., The Right to Asylum in International Law and Islamic Law: Some Reflections, Refugee Law Initiative Blog, 14.12.2022.
  • Legal texts and documents of specific Institutions
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  • AFRICAN UNION. 1969 African Refugee Convention, at https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36400-treaty-0005_-_oau_convention_governing_the_specific_aspects_of_refugee_problems_in_africa_e.pdf
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  • UNHCR. Note on the Principle of Non-Refoulement, at https://www.refworld.org/docid/438c6d972.html
  • UNHCR statistics for 2022 and 2023 regarding forced migration in the world, in:
  • UNHCR. Statistics of refugees and displaced persons originating from and hosted by Muslim countries, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2022, at https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-trends-forced-displacement-2022
  • UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), The Gaza Strip: In The Darkest Hour as Humanitarian Situation Untenable 
  • OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Displacement (Gaza Strip), 28 November 2023,
  • OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – OCHA Flash Update #52, at https://www.un.org/unispal/document/hostilities-in-the-gaza-strip-and-israel-ocha-flash-update-52/
  • OHCHR, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people, at h

Refugee Rights in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law With Special Reference to The Non-Refoulement Principle

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 51 - 68, 29.12.2023

Abstract

The Islamic humanitarian and protective principles relating to forced migration (hijrah) are important themes of the Islamic history and theory. In Islam, hijrah is a genuine human right. It is a duty, a right and a comprehensive and effective protection. Many verses of the Holy Quran and numerous Hadith (Sayings of Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him (PBUH)) deal with forced migration and refugees. Hijrah law is quite different from modern refugee law. It guarantees more rights to forced migrants (muhājirūn), notably the right to be granted asylum, not to be returned and to be protected. Comparatively, in modern refugee law, forced migrants have the right to seek asylum, the right not to be refouled, but not the right to get asylum. The protection guaranteed in this law is quite limited. Hijrah law goes beyond the principle of non-refoulement as included in international refugee law. It guarantees for forced migrants the right to live as part of the host community and not only not to be refouled. The present Islamic world, which is supposed to be the world of peace and security (dar assalaam wal amaan), has become the world of conflicts and of forced displacement (dar al-harb wal hijrah). However, when dealing with forced migration and with migrants, this world refers rather to modern refugee law and hardly to the Islamic teachings and principles relating to hijrah and muhājirūn. until recently, hijra theory and law have been overlooked by scholars and researchers and only a few specific studies have been conducted about the subject. If taken into consideration and practiced, hijrah law could contribute a lot to enhancing the protection of the forcibly displaced persons and reduce the problems they are facing now, including refoulement.

References

  • ABOU EL-WAFAA, A., The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: A Comparative Study, Press of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh, 2009.
  • ALBANESE F., TAKKENBERG A., Palestinian Refugees in International Law, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • ARNAOUT, G. M., Asylum in the Arab-Islamic Tradition, UNHCR/International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Geneva, 1987.
  • BETTS, A. and COLLIER, P., Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System, 1st edition, Allen Lane, 2017.
  • ELMADMAD, K. (in French) Asile et réfugiés dans les pays afro-arabes (Asylum in the Afro-Arabes Countries), Editons Eddif, Casablanca, Morocco, 2002,
  • ELMADMAD, K. (Ed.) (in French), Les Migrants et leurs droits au Maghreb (Migrants and their Rights in the Maghreb), Edition La Croisée des Chemins, Casablanca, 2004, see UNESCO web site :
  • ZAAT K., The protection of forced migrants in Islamic law, UNHCR publication, Geneva 2007, in: https://www.unhcr.org/media/protection-forced-migrants-islamic-law-kirsten-zaat
  • AKRAM, Susan M., ‘UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees’ in Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • ELMADMAD, K. Migration Law and Migrants’ Rights: an Underdeveloped Branch of Law: the Moroccan Experience, in OUCHO John O Editor,
  • Migration in the Service of African Development: Essays in honour of Professor Aderanti Adepoju, Safari Books Ltd, Ibadan (Nigeria), 2011,
  • ELMADMAD, K. Asylum in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law, in Asylum and Islam, a Special issue of the Oxford Journal Refugees, Survey Quarterly, Volume 27, Number 2, 2008, Oxford University Press, pp.51-63
  • ELMADMAD, K. The Human Rights of Refugees with Special Reference to Muslim Refugee Women, in INDRA Doreen, Engendering Forced Migration:
  • Theory and Practice, Berghahn Books, New York and Oxford, 1998 pp 261-, 271
  • ELMADMAD, K. Asylum in Past and Present Morocco, in, Morocco: The Journal of Moroccan Studies, N° 2, 1992, published by the Centre of Near and Middle Eastern Studies,
  • The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, UK, pp.28-33.
  • ELMADMAD, K( in Arabic). Asylum in Sharia and in International Law, in a book in Arabic entitled: Human Rights: Practical Studies on the Arab World),
  • published by Mahmoud Charif BASSIOUNI, Mohammed Said ADDAKAK and Abdel Adim WAZIR, Dar Al-Ilm lil Malyin, Beirut, 1989, Volume 2, pp. 108-131.
  • AL-DAWOODY, A., The principle of non-refoulement under Islamic Law and International Law: Complementing International Legal Protection in Muslima Context,
  • Humanitarian Law & Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 2011,
  • EGYPT’S DAR AL-IFTA. A Journey to the real meaning of hijrah!”, at https://www.dar-alifta.org/en/article/details/1798/a-journey-to-the-real-meaning-of-hijrah
  • ELMADMAD, K., Asylum in the Arab World: Some Recent Instruments, in Journal of Peace Studies, Vol.6, Issue 1, Publication of the Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi, January-February 1999, pp.24-34
  • ELMADMAD, K., Asylum in Islam, Judaism and Christianity", in Africa Legal Aid Quarterly, Maastricht, Holland, January-March 1998, pp. 26-29
  • ELMADMAD, K., An Arab Declaration on the Protection of Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Arab World", in The Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol.6, No. 2, 1993, Oxford University Press, pp.173-175
  • ELMADMAD. K., An Arab Convention on Forced Migration: Desirability and Possibilities, in International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol 3, 1991, Oxford University Press, pp. 461-481
  • MARSHALL, L.W., Toward a new definition of 'refugee': Is the 1951 Convention Out of Date? Vol. 37, Issue 1, 2011
  • STEVENS, D., The Right to Asylum in International Law and Islamic Law: Some Reflections, Refugee Law Initiative Blog, 14.12.2022.
  • Legal texts and documents of specific Institutions
  • AFRICAN UNION. Kampala Convention, at https://au.int/en/treaties/african-union-convention-protection-and-assistance-internally-displaced-persons-africa
  • AFRICAN UNION. 1969 African Refugee Convention, at https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36400-treaty-0005_-_oau_convention_governing_the_specific_aspects_of_refugee_problems_in_africa_e.pdf
  • UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, , 22 November 1984,
  • UNHCR. Note on the Principle of Non-Refoulement, at https://www.refworld.org/docid/438c6d972.html
  • UNHCR statistics for 2022 and 2023 regarding forced migration in the world, in:
  • UNHCR. Statistics of refugees and displaced persons originating from and hosted by Muslim countries, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2022, at https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-trends-forced-displacement-2022
  • UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), The Gaza Strip: In The Darkest Hour as Humanitarian Situation Untenable 
  • OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Displacement (Gaza Strip), 28 November 2023,
  • OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – OCHA Flash Update #52, at https://www.un.org/unispal/document/hostilities-in-the-gaza-strip-and-israel-ocha-flash-update-52/
  • OHCHR, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people, at h
There are 37 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Migration, Asylum and Refugee Law
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Khadija Elmadmad 0009-0002-9134-3107

Publication Date December 29, 2023
Submission Date December 16, 2023
Acceptance Date December 26, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 8 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Elmadmad, K. (2023). Refugee Rights in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law With Special Reference to The Non-Refoulement Principle. Middle East Journal of Refugee Studies, 8(2), 51-68.