Animal rights

J.M. Coetzee’s Elizabeth Costello is about animal rights and animal Ethics. In this novel, an aging novelist gives a series of lectures about animals and their moral status. Elizabeth Costello takes issue with the tradition of Western philosophical thought which is based on the binary opposition between reason and emotion. In Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk’s Janina Duszejko is also an elderly woman haunted by the horror of what human beings do to animals. The present interdisciplinary study -a library-based qualitative research- reviews the similarities between these two characters and aims to show that Duszejko could be seen as Costello’s alter ego. It surveys the writers’ choice of sentience over reason, the way the texts have undermined the arguments of their major characters, and the similarities between animals and prisoners of concentration camps. Findings show that Coetzee and Tokarczuk do not uphold the Western tradition that divides experience into reason/emotion, masculine/ feminine, justice/ love, and public/ private. In both novels, the writers avoid binary oppositions and through Costello and Duszejko ask the readers/audiences to open their hearts and become one with their victims.

Nowadays, the effects and consequences of armed conflicts are not limited to human beings and they adversely affect the environment and many species of animals as well. Animals are considered to be the unknown and forgotten victims of armed conflicts. In international humanitarian law (IHL) this issue is largely ignored and there are only few rules that indirectly and ambiguously deal with the protection of animals during armed conflict. However, in the sources of Islamic law there are explicit rules and regulations that directly protect the rights of animals during the war. These rules fall into two different categories. First, those concerned with those animals which are used during the conflict as tools and methods of warfare and are regarded as part of military property and equipment. Second, those relating to animals that are not used in the conflict but are affected by the effects and consequences of the war similar to civilians and individuals who do not have a direct participation in hostilities. This study attempts to comparatively examine the relevant rules and principles in IHL and Islam. Based on the findings of the paper, it could be concluded that due to inadequacy and insufficiency of IHL concerning the protection of animal rights during armed conflicts, it appears to be necessary to develop new rules in this regard and employing the existing sources such as religious ones, including Islamic teachings, that are closely linked with ethical treatment of animals.

The present study aims to examine the ethical and jurisprudential aspects of animal rights in the context of war according to Islamic and Christian doctrines. This topic holds a significant ethical and legal position within traditions, reflecting different historical and cultural backgrounds as well as varied approaches to the issue. The primary research question is to analyze and critically compare Islamic and Christian perspectives on respecting animal rights during armed conflict, while also examining the related intellectual developments. The study aims to delineate the theoretical and practical frameworks of both religions in this field and to extract their points of convergence and divergence. The research methodology is based on a content analysis of sacred texts, jurisprudential and theological literature, and a descriptive-analytical review of the viewpoints of prominent thinkers from both religious schools. The findings indicate that within Islam, the killing and abuse of animals during war are strictly limited and only permitted in cases of necessity, with adherence to ethical principles. These teachings have demonstrated remarkable stability and continuity from the inception of Islam to the present. In contrast, Christian teachings have historically legitimized and, at times, mandated the killing of animals during wartime. Until the late twentieth century, the dominant Christian stance was not strongly protective of animal rights. However, contemporary philosophical and cultural transformations within Christianity have led to a fundamental reassessment and orientation towards the preservation and protection of animal rights in armed conflict. This study demonstrates that while Islam maintains a consistent theoretical and practical position, Christianity has undergone a significant historical evolution in its attitude towards animal rights during wartime.