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This article is also available in Arabic.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit commended the release of the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities.
“This is a very timely and significant text with an important message for us all,” said Tveit. The document was released by hundreds of Muslim scholars and intellectuals from more than 120 countries, along with representatives of Islamic and international organizations, as well as leaders from diverse religious groups and nationalities who attended a conference on 25-27 January in Marrakesh, Morocco.
“With this declaration, Muslim leaders are showing the way toward a future of living together on a shared platform of equal rights, mutual care and respect,” Tveit added.
The conference marked the 1,400th anniversary of the Charter of Medina, a constitutional contract between the Prophet Muhammad and the people of Medina which guaranteed the religious liberty of all, regardless of faith.
The Marrakesh Declaration voices the participants’ “firm commitment to the principles articulated in the Charter of Medina, whose provisions contained a number of the principles of constitutional contractual citizenship, such as freedom of movement, property ownership, mutual solidarity and defense, as well as principles of justice and equality before the law.”
The conference was held under the auspices of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and organized jointly by the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs in the Kingdom of Morocco and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies based in the United Arab Emirates.
Executive Summary of Marrakesh Declaration
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