The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age as Expressed in a Muslim Country: A Case Study of Kuwait

Abstract

This article is primarily concerned with setting a definition for the right to privacy in the digital age, which reflects its meaning and social value in Kuwait as an Arab — Muslim country. While ‘ḥurmah’ is considered as equivalent to ‘privacy’, under the primary sources of Islamic law, its meanings do not provide a sufficient explanation of what is meant by privacy. Also, most Arabic academics, instead of focusing on the illustration of privacy from the perspective of Islamic law, have tended to demonstrate the term ‘privacy’ according to Western theories, without considering the differences between Western and Islamic cultures and the value of that right in each. As such, this article has illustrated and explained the prevalent Western theories, but with reflection from the perspective of Islamic law, in order to set a definition for that right which reflects its meaning and social value in Kuwait as a Muslim country.