ABSTRACT

The first section of this chapter critiques the immediate (post-September 11th 2001) as well as broader ideological context of the global human rights and democracy project and its possible function as the Trojan horse of recolonization. It raises the question of cultural imperialism that may mask the emergence of the homo aeconomicus and asks if the simplistic translation of democracy and human rights discourse into the language of Islam is not really a substitute for genuine dialogue. Such dialogue can only occur between equals and when one acknowledges the substantial differences both in historicity and cosmovisions of the human rights project and Islam.