An-Na'im states that the Islamic religion is universal and, in so many words, that the human rights of the Muslim people have been impacted by it. The chapter breaks the ice by saying that there is a paradox surrounding the issue of human rights in the Muslim world because a country can state that it is for human rights and profess that it will utilize the UN's declaration of Human Rights doctrine, but the country either does not bother with the doctrine or just has a low enforcement/compliance rate.

In both cases, one would assume that the country should and would do all that it could, but then again, we have to look at things from a cultural relative point of view. Some cultures violate the UN's Declaration of Human Rights because of the simple fact what the UN views as a violation, the culture is question views as a cultural norm. In addition, the same could be said, if it were the other way.

I believe that the paradox of human rights is universal and representative of all nations because not one nation has complied completely with the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. It is quite understandable for one to think, "Well, if these nations are violating the doctrine, why doesn't the UN do something about it"" The answer to that would be ... the UN does not have the power to enforce anything on any nation; every nation has a right to sovereignty, or rather the right to govern itself. The UN does not have the ability to break this rule by no means, even though some violations are borderline disasters.

Although the UN cannot force a nation to submit to its declaration- we are told that we should adopt the principle of reciprocity by means of treating others the way we would like to be treated. The writer lets the reader know that reciprocity has no place in some Muslim cultures when it comes to the treatment of women and non-Muslims. The Shari'a law, which the author doesn't completely agree with, is an example of a culture's/nation's perception of "culturally legitimate standards that are not universal and sometimes even considered to be violations according to the UN's Declaration of Human Rights, but still work in their culture.