Justice as an Islamic Journalistic Value and Goal

Abstract

Justice is a central component of Arab-Islamic morality,¹ often viewed as an indispensable condition for the institution and sustainability of the virtuous Ummah (community of believers). In broader abstract ways, justice in Islamic traditions epitomizes equilibrium in the Universe as created by God in the most perfect of ways. Through Islamic intellectual history, this comprehensive perspective of justice, with its physical and moral manifestations, has received profound attention in religious and philosophical traditions. In those traditions, justice derives much of its significance from its association with two overarching ethical concepts: fairness (Qist) and responsibility (Masooliyya). Fairness defines values like accuracy, balance, honesty, and respect, while responsibility embraces adherence to divine Shari’a (law) and ‘bold advocacy of good and combat of evil’.² In this sense, it may not be adequate for the individual to be accurate, balanced, honest, respectful, and law-abiding; he/she should also be proactive in ensuring that those values are maintained and acted upon in the community.