Legal-Political Rhetoric, Human Rights, and the Constitution of Medina

The article demonstrates how the Constitution of Medina (622 CE) is a multidimensional rhetoric of justice that countered rampant violence in the nascent city-state known as Medina. To make this argument, the article first introduces this legal-political text and explicates the rhetorical exigence t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rhetorica 2018-07, Vol.36 (3), p.219-243
Main Author: Diab, Rasha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Islam
Middle Eastern history
Rhetoric
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Summary:The article demonstrates how the Constitution of Medina (622 CE) is a multidimensional rhetoric of justice that countered rampant violence in the nascent city-state known as Medina. To make this argument, the article first introduces this legal-political text and explicates the rhetorical exigence that mandated Medina’s inhabitants to articulate a framework for rights and obligations. Second, the article demonstrates how the constitution unified this citizenry by (1) recognizing everyone’s equal standing, equality, and rights—especially to religious freedom and justice—across their religious and tribal affiliations; and (2) establishing institutional measures that realize these rights. As rhetoric of possibility, the Constitution of Medina constituted a community and modeled rights discourse.
ISSN:0734-8584
1533-8541
1533-8541
DOI:10.1353/rht.2018.0008