Democracy, Rights, Historical Memory, and Interfaith Relations in the Works of Fatima Mernissi and Asma Uddin

The works of Moroccan-born Muslim scholar Fatima Mernissi (1940-2015) and United States-born Muslim scholar Asma T. Uddin (b. 1980) are distinctive contributions in modern conversations about the intersections of Islam, law, human and civil rights as well as historical memory and interfaith relations (AncestryLibrary, n.d.; Fox, 2015; Florida Bar, n.d.; Justia Lawyers, n.d.; Rodoski, 2011; Sadiqi, 2018).[i] Mernissi, who was a professor of sociology at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, and Uddin, who is an attorney and scholar based in the United States, are influential and delve into the intricate relationships between Islamic ideas and modern legal frameworks, albeit from different geographical and contextual standpoints (Fox, 2015; Mernissi, 2002; Rodoski, 2011; Uddin, 2019). This essay analyzes, compares, and contrasts Mernissi's interpretations of Islam in light of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with Uddin's interpretations of Islam concerning the United States Constitution's first amendment rights related to religious freedom and liberty, while analyzing the implications of both intellectuals’ ideas with respect to historical memory and interfaith relations (Mernissi, 2002; Uddin, 2019).