Human Rights and Religion
1. An increase in the number of people who believe human rights are
incompatible with Islam was observed (from 29.6% in 2011 to 33.7% in
2019), while a decline is noted in the those who attest to its compatibility
(from 45.6% in 2011 to 29.9% in 2019).
2. More women (36.0%) than men (29.2%) were of the opinion that human
rights are incompatible with Islam.
3. A decrease in the number of women agreeing with compatibility between
Islam and human rights from 41.0% in 2011 to 30.2% in 2019, as well as
among men, with a drop from 49.0% in 2011 to 29.7% in 2019.
4. Over a third (35.6%) of the respondents living in urban regions were of
the belief that there are no conflicts between human rights and Islam,
whereas only 26.4% of those from outer islands tended to subscribe to
the same view.
5. Over a third (34.0%) of the respondents from outer islands stated that
they believed human rights and Islam are in conflict with one another
and therefore incompatible.
6. Among those who considered human rights to be opposed to Islamic
ideals, 50.0% were in the 60-69 age group. The greatest number of
people who thought human rights and Islam are compatible were over
70 years of age (41.7%).
7. Concerningly, a third (36.2%) of the respondents who think human rights
and Islam are not compatible belong to the 20-29 age group.
8. Among migrant workers, 15.5% believe human rights to be compatible
with Islam.
9. Almost half of the respondents believed that human rights are not
compatible with Islam because the punishments for offences prescribed
in Islam conflicted with principles of human rights.
10. There were worrying responses from a considerable number of people
who felt that gender equality and child rights are not compatible with
Islam. And it’s concerning that most of these respondents were women.
11. People also believed that human rights principles conflicted with Islamic
values among which dress code, the use of music in schools, freedom
of conscience and thought, inability to implement harsh punishments,
detainee/prisoner rights and promotion of interaction between sexes are
notable. It is also important to note that it was mostly young people who
expressed concern regarding human rights hindering implementation of
the death penalty.
Attitudes to Family and Ideas about Acceptable
Behaviour in the Home
1. 82.9% of respondents were strongly supportive of the statement ‘A good
wife always obeys her husband even if she disagrees’.
2. 45.9% of respondents from outer islands were in strong agreement with
this statement compared to 20.1% from urban regions who strongly
agreed.
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