Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- The history of the caliphates -- Islamic law, international law, and human rights -- Islamic states -- Islam, constitutions, and democracy -- Islamic law and international law in Islamic constitutions -- Islamic states and the UN human rights treaties -- Islamic international human rights law.

"This book examines the legal nature of "an" Islamic state and the human rights it commits to uphold. It offers the first study into Islamic constitutions to map the relationship between Sharia and the state in terms of institutions. This also supports an assessment of the place of Sharia in the national legal order. The book unites three strands of analysis: the compatibility of Sharia with the rights enunciated in UN treaties; the patterns of adherence of Islamic states to human rights treaties; and the compatibility of international Islamic human rights declarations with UN standards. By exploring all formal human rights commitments of all Islamic states within a single analytical framework, it will appeal to international human rights and constitutional scholars with an interest in Islamic law and states"-- Provided by publisher.

Compatible with accessibility standards for most Level A (Priority 1) and AA (Priority 2) success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).