Introduction

<p dir="ltr">A principle concern of the authors in this collection of papers is how Islamic ethical and legal traditions can contribute to current global debates on the dilemmas of migration and displacement. Can the Muslim tradition provide an alternative international moral and legal paradigm where others have proven inadequate? Abou El Fadl, in this volume, argues that the Muslim tradition is replete with “powerful virtuous ethical impulses that could make substantive contributions to the field of forced migrants and displacement.” The ethics of <i>muʾākhā </i>(brotherhood), <i>ḍiyāfa </i>(hospitality), <i>ijāra</i> (providing protection and support), <i>amān</i> (providing safety), <i>jiwār</i> (neighborliness), <i>sutra </i>(protection, esp. in case of marriage), <i>kafala</i> (to guarantee someone) among others, may provide common ethical grounds with other religious traditions, moral philosophies and social customs that can go beyond the technical applications and procedural standards of international law. The argument that these moral principles or “ethical potentialities and trajectories” are only entitled to fellow Muslims and not applicable to non-Muslims, contradicts the general historical trajectories and normative understanding in Islam. These ethics, according to the authors of this volume, are inclusive and not context-specific. They present “a normative imperative for Muslims that would apply whenever there is an obligation to escape oppression or injustice,” and represent “purposeful construction of social and political virtues” (Abou El Fadl, Chapter One).</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Migration and Islamic Ethics<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</a><br>See chapter on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004417342_002" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004417342_002</a></p>