This is an interdisciplinary transnational research project with other high profile, prominent institutions: Harvard University in America (letter of support attached), the University of Melbourne and Deakin University in Australia. This research project aims to carefully examine the nexus of Islam, disability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals throughout the Muslim world both in theory and practice. It is designed to push the debates and discussions forward by firstly, examining disability conceptually followed by country profiles in light of new recent developments.
In December 2006 the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). It was the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21stcentury, which officially came into force in May 2008. The CRPD was genuinely revolutionary by shifting the framework from viewing people with disabilities as ‘objects’ requiring charity and care to ‘subjects’ equal to all other human beings. Disability rights were further bolstered in 2015 when the UN outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the 2030 agenda, which explicitly referenced people with disabilities. Muslim-majority countries were amongst the first to ratify the CRPD and are actively promoting the SDGs. While faith is not the only factor of influence, the Islamic tradition informs the understanding and practice of disability rights in these countries. Despite this, few studies have analysed the relationship between faith and disability in the Muslim context. The goal is to host a two-day academic conference in December 2020bringing together researchers, practitioners and policymakers to explore this area and contribute to the field of disability and faith studies. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed edited collection from an internationally renowned university press. At present, both Oxford and Cambridge University Press have shown a keen interest.