OTHER MINORITIES IN NON-MUSLIM STATES

International Seminar on Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim States, Declaration, London, July, 1978

We the participants in the Seminar:

I1. (a) Affirming the commitment of Islam to the values of justice, human dignity, tolerance and the inalienable rights of man.

(b) Aware of our sense of belonging to the Ummah which transcends geographical, racial and political boundaries.

(c) Conscious of our divinely ordained duty to struggle for the relief of the oppressed of mankind wherever they be.

(d) Realizing that at no time in history was there a greater need for concerted efforts, individual as well as institutional, in this direction.

Yet at the same time:

 2. (a) Regretting the systematic denial of human and civil rights of Muslim communities in some Communist and non-communist lands.

 (b) Condemning the recent brutal persecution of Muslims in Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Philippines, Thailand, Burmaand Cambodia.

 (c) Viewing with apprehension the inability of the government of India to prevent the widespread incidence of communal riots in the country.

 (d) Noting with deep anguish the continued violation of the sanctity and the rightful sovereignty of the city of Jerusalem and affirming our commitment to the restoration of the integrity of the Holy City as an integral part of the heritage of Islam.

Resolve to:

II 1. (a) Call upon all governments to take effective measures to enforce human rights within their jurisdictions. Provide constitutional safeguards and establish socio-political instructions to ensure justice, freedom and equality for all irrespective of race, ethnic origin. Religion or culture.

 (b) Urge all countries where Muslim communities reside to recognise their right to pursue the Islamic way of life and to provide them opportunity for the expression of their Islamic identity in all its manifestations.

 (c) Suggest to the Government of India to repeal the provision in the Indian Constitution for a uniform civil code in order to guarantee the inviolability of Muslim Personal Law.

Urge all Muslim States to:

2. (a) Extend full support, with due regard to sovereignty of states, to Muslim communities in non-Muslim states whenever their rights are threatened, or whenever they suffer from discrimination and persecution.

 (b) Assist Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries in preserving and strengthening their religio-cultural identity by establishing social institutions such as schools, hospitals and orphanages with a view to saving their future generations from alienation and cultural assimilation.

(c) Offer scholarships, job opportunities and training facilities in professional and technical fields to members of Muslim Communities in non-Muslim states and arrange a programme of educational and cultural exchange.

(d) Give preferential treatment in their immigration laws to Muslim individuals from non-Muslim countries, independent of the policy adopted towards the governments of such individuals.

(e) Incorporate into their own educational systems provisions enabling students to be informed about various aspects of the life of Muslim minorities.

(f) Above all, to speedily accomplish in their own jurisdiction the goal of transforming existing constitutional and legal structures which are a legacy of the colonial past into conformity with the Islamic Shariah.

Urge all Muslim Communities to:

3. (a) Make efforts to preserve their Islamic identity strengthen the fraternal bonds with the Ummah and at the same time participate fully in the life of their societies or residence.

 (b) Make efforts to arrive at an accurate estimate of Muslim populations in their countries and to undertake in-depth sociological studies concerning various aspects of their life.

 (c) Be financially independent and self-reliant in funding their mosques, religious schools and other Islamic institutions.

Further we,

(a)    Call upon the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Islamic Solidarity Fund and the Islamic Council of Europe to set up a permanent international commission with headquarters in London to monitor the conditions of Muslim minorities and whenever necessary take appropriate measures to deal with any situation of discrimination, injustice and denial of human and civil rights.

(b)   Urge the above organisations to establish an International Muslim University of Science and Technology that would enable Muslims from all parts of the world, and particularly from Muslim communities in non-Muslim states, to pursue advanced modern knowledge and research within the framework of Islamic belief and in consonance with the spirit of Islam.

Finally:

III (a) Welcome the declaration by the Secretary, General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference concerning the setting up of a "Department of Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim States" at the Secretariat General in Jeddah. We request the Secretary General to give top priority to the establishment of this department so that the tasks assigned to it may be carried out speedily.

 (b) We note with satisfaction the offer made by the Chairman of the Islamic Solidarity Fund to extend financial cooperation to projects relating to Muslim minorities of the world, and hope that this support shall be available adequately and soon.