Want to Stabilize the Middle East? Transitional Justice or Retaliatory Justice?

Dear Colleagues,

In the event of human rights abuses and mistreatments, victims have well-established rights to see the culprits punished, to know the truth, and to receive compensations/reparations. Because systemic human rights transgressions touch not only affect the victims, but society as a whole, states have responsibilities to assure that the defilements will not reoccur, and, thus, a distinctive duty to reform institutions that were either involved in or unable to avert the mistreatments. Academic scholars and activists cited that the core elements of a comprehensive transitional justice (“TJ”) policy include criminal prosecutions and trials, mainly those that address perpetrators considered to be the most accountable/liable. Transitioning countries under Shari‘a can accuse and punish culprits for intentional massacres as well as rape and launch reparation agendas for forced disappearances, deliberate and unintentional homicides, and physical injuries

Compensations (repressions), through which governments recognize and take steps to address the injuries suffered. Such initiatives often have significant components, such as health services/cash payments as well as symbolic features, public apologies, or memorialization (day of remembrance). An Islamic transitional justice institution would permit both retributive and restorative justice depending on the criminal abuse and the victims per se and their families, if deceased. Furthermore, institutional reform of offensive state institutions such as the military, police enforcements, and the judiciary (courts), to dismantle appropriately the operative machinery of manipulations and preclude reappearance of grave human rights abuses and impunity along with the truth commissions or other techniques to investigate and report on systematic patterns of exploitation and recommend changes and reforms in that field.

Islam—like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, or any other faith, Abrahamic or not—is not just about peace nor is it about war. Numerous Islamic law norms jumped up in many regions, with shifting allegations for future progress. Currently, Islam involves a gigantic variety of beliefs and performances, as what is customarily experienced by one group may be proscribed by another.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed A. 'Arafa

Guest Editor

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• Transitional justice
• Criminal law
• Islamic law
• Human rights
• Middle East
• Punishment