The Impact of Islamic International Law on Contemporary Global Conflicts
Abstract
The integration of Islamic International Law (IIL) with modern global legal systems presents significant challenges, particularly in addressing issues of sovereignty, human rights, and conflict resolution. As global conflicts and international relations evolve, there is a need for legal frameworks that incorporate diverse traditions, including IIL, to ensure justice, fairness, and peace. This article highlights the growing relevance of IIL, exploring its potential role in addressing contemporary global challenges such as climate change, economic justice, and conflict resolution. The objectives of this study are to examine the historical foundations of IIL, assess its current relevance, and explore the possibilities for harmonizing IIL with modern international legal norms. Despite its historical influence, IIL remains underexplored in addressing global challenges, particularly in the context of international treaties, human rights, and the evolving global order. The methodology employs a comparative analysis of IIL principles with contemporary international law, supported by case studies like the Iran Nuclear Deal and Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen. The findings indicate that Islamic International Law (IIL) significantly shapes the dynamics of contemporary global conflicts by providing alternative frameworks for conflict resolution, promoting justice-oriented diplomatic practices, and influencing the legal approaches of Muslim-majority states in issues such as humanitarian intervention, human rights, and treaty negotiations. The implications of this study advocate for greater dialogue between Islamic legal traditions and global legal systems, suggesting that a balanced approach could enhance global governance and provide practical solutions for issues such as peace-building, climate action, and human rights protection.
Full text article
References
Abou El Fadl, K. (1994). Legal debates on Muslim minorities: Between rejection and accommodation. The Journal of Religious Ethics, 127–162.
Ahmad, I., Haider, A., & Afzal, J. (2024). The Geopolitical and Economic Impact of BRICS on the Middle East. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 18(4), 80–95.
Ahmad, N. (2021). The concept of just-war in islamic and modern international law. J. Int’l L. Islamic L., 17, 29.
Akbaba, B. G. (2025). Access to Justice and Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Islamic Jurisprudence and Secular Legal Systems. İnsan ve Toplum, 15(2), 171–192.
Akhtar, S. (1971). An Inquiry into the Nature, Origin and Source of Islamic Law of Nations. Islamic Studies, 10(1), 23–37.
Akhter, S., Mahr, F., & Imtiaz, A. (2021). Exploring Restorative Justice: An Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism in Islamic Law and Customary Law. Journal of Law & Social Studies (JLSS), 5(4), 625–636.
Al Dosari, A., & George, M. (2023). An Alternative to the Use of Force in International Law and Arab-Islamic Sulh for the Yemen Armed Conflict. J. Pol. & L., 16, 23.
Al-Ahsan, A. (2008). Law, religion and human dignity in the Muslim world today: An examination of OIC’s Cairo Declaration of Human Rights. Journal of Law and Religion, 24(2), 569–597.
Al-Anzi, A.-S. H. (2024). Evolution of the Principle of International Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Civilians in International Law. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(7), 96–110.
Al-Rodiman, A. (2013). The application of Shari’ah and international human rights law in Saudi Arabia [PhD Thesis]. https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7578
Alwazna, R. Y. (2016). Islamic Law: Its Sources, Interpretation and the Translation of It into Laws Written in English. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue Internationale de Sémiotique Juridique, 29(2), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-016-9473-x
Athanasoulia, S. (2020). From ‘Soft’to ‘Hard’to ‘Moderate’: Islam in the dilemmas of post-2011 Saudi foreign policy. Religions, 11(4), 211.
Baderin, M. A. (2003). International human rights and Islamic law. OUP Oxford. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RHRCAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP18&dq=The+Cairo+Declaration+demonstrates+that+human+rights+can+be+compatible+with+Islamic+International+Law+(IIL)+and+points+out+the+difficulties+that+arise+from+trying+to+connect+Islamic+beliefs+with+human+rights+laws+that+are+based+on+common+values.+&ots=yMnWa9FnzO&sig=Vewo25arWpRd1aUHrbw8_Mc_K_o
Editors Human Rights Law in Africa. (n.d.). Cairo Declaration On Human Rights In Islam. Human Rights Law in Africa Online, 1(1), 765–769.
Engelbrekt, K., Mohlin, M., & Wagnsson, C. (2013). The NATO Intervention in Libya. Routledge. https://api.taylorfrancis.com/content/books/mono/download?identifierName=doi&identifierValue=10.4324/9781315889719&type=googlepdf
Ghunaimi, M. T. (2012). The Muslim conception of international law and the Western approach. Springer Science & Business Media. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=toQJBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=International+islamic+law+and+modern+international+law+have+significant+differences+in+their+approach+to+basic+ideas+like+sovereignty.+&ots=2fIsy1J8vV&sig=fV2IakrRdA90a3z5a88hle4By-g
Gunn, T. J., & Lagresa, A. (2016). The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Universal Human Rights, Islamic Values, or Raisons d’Etat. Hum. Rts. & Int’l Legal Discourse, 10, 248.
Haider, A. (2023). Beyond Borders and Bars: Exploring the Transformative Influence of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Pakistan JL Analysis & Wisdom, 2, 1.
Haider, A. (2024). Application of the United Nation Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: An Analysis. Available at SSRN 4686710. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4686710
Haider, A., Rana, M. Z. R., & Anwaar, K. (2024). The Democracy Mirage in the Wake of the Arab Spring: Legal Perspectives on External Dynamics. Pakistan JL Analysis & Wisdom, 3, 20.
Haider, A., Raza, S., & Khan, B. Z. (2023). Organized Crime and the Objectives of the Islamic Penal System. Al-Qamar, 6, 63–82.
Iftikhar, A. M., Arif, K. M., & Imran, M. (2024). Model Of Conflict Management: An Analytical Review Of Conflict Resolution Strategies Of Prophet (ﷺ). Pakistan Islamicus (An International Journal of Islamic & Social Sciences), 4(03), 250–256.
Iqbal, J. J. (1984). The concept of state in Islam. American Journal of Islam and Society, 1(1), 11–25.
Islam, M. T. (2005). Non-Muslims’ Rights in Islam and Its Compatibility with International Human Rights. Dhaka Univ. Stud. Part F, 16, 123.
Itzkowitz, N. (2008). Ottoman empire and Islamic tradition. University of Chicago Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aapbAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=transformation+of+international+islamic+law+from+the+Islamic+period+to+the+Ottoman+Empire+shows+that+it+adapted+while+holding+on+to+certain+principles.+&ots=JQQFhJDObe&sig=ugrf8-oc7z4_S1SyXOZujaX3CQU
Kuran, T. (2013). The rule of law in Islamic thought and practice: A historical perspective. In Global perspectives on the rule of law (pp. 87–106). Routledge-Cavendish. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203870594-13/rule-law-islamic-thought-practice-historical-perspective-timur-kuran
March, A. F. (2019). The caliphate of man: Popular sovereignty in modern Islamic thought. Belknap Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jfuwDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=During+the+Rashidun+Caliphate+and+in+the+early+Islamic+period,+leaders+viewed+sovereignty+more+as+an+obligation+than+as+a+special+privilege&ots=gwCh2gtDW-&sig=GtuGHU9DUHj5-ySMkip6m9m4qP8
March, A. F., & Modirzadeh, N. K. (2013). Ambivalent universalism? Jus ad Bellum in modern islamic legal discourse. European Journal of International Law, 24(1), 367–389.
Mayer, A. E. (2018). Islam and human rights: Tradition and politics. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780429495120/islam-human-rights-ann-elizabeth-mayer
McGoldrick, D. (2019). Sharia Law in Europe? Legacies of the Ottoman Empire and the European Convention on Human Rights. Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 8(3), 517–566.
Memisoglu, F., & Ilgit, A. (2017). Syrian refugees in Turkey: Multifaceted challenges, diverse players and ambiguous policies. Mediterranean Politics, 22(3), 317–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2016.1189479
Morgan-Foster, J. (2005). Third generation rights: What Islamic law can teach the international human rights movement. Yale Hum. Rts. & Dev. LJ, 8, 67.
Moschtaghi, R. (2009). The Relation between International Law, Islamic Law and Constitutional Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran–A Multilayer System of Conflict? Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online, 13(1), 375–420.
Olayemi, A. A. M., Hamzah Alabi, A., & Hidayah Buang, A. (2015). Islamic Human Rights Law: A Critical Evaluation of UIDHR & CDHRI in Context of UDHR. Journal of Islam, Law and Judiciary, 1(3), 27–36.
Powell, E. J. (2019). Islamic law and international law: Peaceful resolution of disputes. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aya3DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Apart+from+morality,+International+islamic+law+proposes+a+new+style+for+resolving+conflicts+that+may+benefit+existing+practices+in+international+law.&ots=PM8VKVjks0&sig=O1JXhBMdgDtLaEErqln5Tro4xdU
Rahman, M. M. (2021). Political and Legal System of Islam. System, 1(1). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohammad-Mushfequr-Rahman/publication/355793130_Political_and_Legal_System_of_Islam/links/6293014188c32b037b5a66ba/Political-and-Legal-System-of-Islam.pdf
Rasyid, A., Lubis, R. F., Hutagalung, M. W. R., Lubis, M. A., Nor, M. R. M., & Vinandita, A. (2023). Local Wisdom Recognition in Inter-Ethnic Religious Conflict Resolution in Indonesia from Islah Perspective. JURIS (Jurnal Ilmiah Syariah), 22(1), 13–26.
Roeder, T. (2012). Traditional Islamic Approaches to Public International Law–Historic Concepts, Modern Implications. Heidelberg Journal of International Law, 72, 521–541.
Rudolph, H. (2013). The Ottoman Empire and the Institutionalization of European Diplomacy, 1500–1700. Islam and International Law: Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspectives, 161–183.
Sassoli, M. (2023). Armed Conflict in Yemen: An Illustration of the Pertinence and Deficiencies of Existing IHL Rules. Iranian Journal of International and Comparative Law, 1(1), 100–113.
Scolnicov, A. (2010). The right to religious freedom in international law: Between group rights and individual rights. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203842638/right-religious-freedom-international-law-anat-scolnicov
Sezgin, Y. (2023). A GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL EXPLORATION: LEGISLATIVE REFORM IN MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS IN MUSLIM‐MAJORITY VERSUS MUSLIM‐MINORITY COUNTRIES. Law & Policy, 45(2), 110–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/lapo.12210
Shahzadi, R. (2021). The Doctrine of Jihad in Islamic Thought: An Analytical Study. Al Haqeeqah, 1(2), 1–8.
Sharif, M. J., & Ijaz, M. (2014). Madhhab in Islamic law and the dissemination of Sunni’s legal text. VFAST Transactions on Islamic Research, 2(1), 43–49.
Stamnes, E. (2009). Speaking R2P and the prevention of mass atrocities. Global Resp. Protect, 1, 70.
Steunebrink, G. (2008). Sovereignty, the nation state, and Islam. Ethical Perspectives, 15(1), 7–47.
Westbrook, D. A. (1992). Islamic international law and public international law: Separate expressions of world order. Va. J. Int’l L., 33, 819.
Wormald, B. (2013a, April 30). Appendix A: U.S. Muslims — Views on Religion and Society in a Global Context. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-app-a/
Zaman, M. Q. (2015). The Sovereignty of God in Modern Islamic Thought1. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 25(3), 389–418.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Aftab Haider (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
