The Idea of Human Dignity in Islam

Objective

KARAMA reconstructs the idea of human dignity (karamah) in Islamic thought and its role in ethics and law. While dignity is central to modern human rights and has been extensively debated in Western philosophy since Kant, its philosophical status in Islamic traditions has not been systematically examined. The project addresses this gap by clarifying whether dignity should be understood as intrinsic, relational, or conditional, and whether it can serve as a reason-giving principle for rights and duties. The research proceeds in three stages: first, a bilingual study of Qur’anic, classical, and modern reformist texts will systematically map the uses of dignity and related terms; second, a philosophical analysis will reconstruct its normative status and distinguish it from neighbouring ideas such as honour and sanctity; third, the framework will be applied to current debates on gender justice and the justification of human rights. By combining philology, philosophy, law, and digital humanities, the project develops both new knowledge and practical tools. Open science practices include an open-access semantic map, a bilingual dataset, peer-reviewed articles, a policy paper, and a monograph proposal. KARAMA contributes to global ethics by showing how Islamic traditions can enrich universal discussions of dignity, strengthening debates on equality, non-discrimination, and human rights, and providing lasting resources for scholars, NGOs, and policymakers. The project will also support intercultural dialogue by demonstrating how concepts rooted in Islamic sources can contribute to shared human values. It will reinforce European commitments to gender equality, inclusion, and democratic resilience by supplying conceptual tools for human rights debates in both academic and policy arenas.