Comparative Study of Minorities' Rights in Islam Based on Malik Ashtar's Treaty and International Documents

Paying attention to the rights of minority groups as a part of human rights and as one of the topics of international debate dates back to the 19th century. This topic reached its peak in the 20th century. Since legal systems are formed based on the majority vote, respecting the rights of minorities in these systems is one of the essential concerns of human rights. The present study aims to answer the question of what is the status of minority groups in the systems affected by international documents and the divine system reflected in Malik Ashtar's treaty (letter 53 of Nahj al-Balagheh). Based on this, the present research with the library and descriptive-analytical method aims to study the differences between the two systems comparatively. According to the results of the rule of Imam Ali (AS), that is; a thousand years ago, attention was paid to the rights of minorities, and the Alavi seerah tried to reduce the differences between minorities. According to the governmental policy and Imam Ali's (AS) statements in Nahj al-Balaghah, particularly the Malik Ashtar's treaty, legal obligations towards minorities are positive and mandatory, and in establishing the rights of minorities, attention has been paid to the (material and spiritual) aspects of human beings. But in international documents, the borders between minority groups are highlighted; the rights of minorities are based on individual originality, and the obligations of governments in treaties are privative.