A Courageous Muslim Voice: How Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Saved Article 18 of the UDHR

Abstract

This article focuses on an important debate during the drafting session of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia divide over the right to change one’s religion or belief. The debate’s outcome provides compelling evidence of how Muslim voices and Qur'anic arguments profoundly impacted the ultimate adoption of the Declaration’s Article 18 provision on freedom of religion or belief. Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan’s trailblazing contributions to the Declaration provide a hopeful lesson: the pursuit of protecting freedom of religion or belief for everyone depends, in large part, on empowering more courageous Muslim voices who can faithfully harmonize Islamic precepts with universal rights guarantees.