The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: Consequences for the Present Refugee Crisis

In Islam, all legitimate motives for asylum are valid. From its beginning, Islam has provided for the granting of refuge as well as the protection of refugees. The Islamic concept, practices and principles on the matter are clear and unambiguous. Islamic Shari’ah embraces a comprehensive set of rules concerning this topic on the one hand; on the other hand, the greatest number of refugees are actually Muslims and those hosting them are nearly all Muslim States. The refugees currently fleeing to Europe from Muslim States may be divided into two groups, namely: those pushed to flee their countries under threats of war, torture or persecution; and those motivated to improve their status quo. It is self-evident that the first ones are the ‘true refugees’ in the eyes of Islam as well as international refugee law.