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Noury, Shaban and Mokdad: Islamic Perspectives on Human Rights
Written by Omar Mohammed Noury, Sheima Shaban, and Aimen Mokdad
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Presentation by Omar Mohammed Noury, Sheima Shaban, and Aimen Mokdad
at the Geneva Conference on Interfaith Cooperation
and the Protection of Human Rights and Human Dignity
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 2, 2008
Bismillah Al Rahman Al Rahim!
In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful
Blessing and grace be upon all His messengers!
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear participants:
Assalamou Aleikoum Wa Rahmatoullah
May the Peace of God and His Mercy be upon you all!
We young Muslim people stand with you today, in order to improve and strengthen the interreligious cooperation in the world and thus walk together toward peace.
The word Islam comes from “Salam” meaning “Peace” in Arabic.
First of all, we strongly denounce any form of violence wherever it may come from, but mostly violence inflicted in the name of religion. Religion should never serve warfare but rather be a tool for peace-building.
The Qur'an as well as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) have taught us the value and the rules of good conduct and of good governance which allow for harmonious coexistence with others, all others, in a spirit of respect. The sura 49 verse 13 says, “People, We have created you all male and female and have made you nations and tribes so that you would recognize each other.” Would you please take note, dear participants, that this verse concerns all human beings whatever their creed, race or culture.
As a matter of fact, the universal message of Islam invites every individual to work for the welfare of all. It is for this reason that we adamantly call for a continued and substantial interreligious cooperation, in this ideal and significant setting of the Palais des Nations, in agreement with the charter.
Our program stresses training, getting informed and acting!
We see this cooperation along the essential following lines:
• Recognizing each other. Making steps toward the recognition of others, beyond all biases, will bring us closer to our common goal, i.e., peace in this world. Let us not forget that we are all similar and yet different. Trust should therefore be grounded in what we have in common so that our differences are sources of positive enrichment and not of disputes. The diversity among human beings is a gift of God. Diversity never meant disunity. Discovering others and talking with them prompts us to understand them and mutual understanding means undertaking things together, so that we give up wrong and dishonest statements. Recognizing one another opens doors to wisdom; the prophet thus urges us to seek knowledge everywhere. We therefore advocate unity so that this diversity becomes an asset and not a weapon of mutual destruction.
• Education plays a key role in promoting peace. The reasons people refrain from reaching out to others are preconceived ideas, false amalgams, and unfounded suspicions — in other words, ignorance. Each person should teach his children and relatives moral values as well as the respect of others grounded in human dignity. Education has to be a priority because it is the most important step toward building one’s true self while accepting and valuing others as well. We should learn to be responsible and to develop the will to be good, fair and selfless. We should also teach human beings to defend and preserve their rights and dignity while at the same time fulfilling their duties.
• In our present age, we are coping with scores of global issues threatening our humanity such as wars, terrorism, starvation, pollution and many others; we cannot name them all. These problems are affecting all of us, whatever our background, our beliefs or our social status. We badly, critically need to become aware of these realities because they lead us first to a just and positive revolt and then to an urgent and efficient course of action. Our religions and creeds do provide remedies to fight these scourges and tragedies. Therefore, we should push our religious leaders as well as the political and economic decision-makers, whose impact on society through the media is truly considerable, to deal with these issues in their statements, their teachings and their programs and projects and, most of all, in their concrete actions.
• As young people, we have questions on current issues and are seriously challenged. Islam prompts us to solve them by spurring our will. Let us use the resources of technology, such as the Internet and the sites of socialization, in order to quench our thirst for knowledge. Let us ask the media to be fair and honest, since our common goal is to promote peace.
As I mentioned earlier, we see our objectives for peace fulfilled through training, becoming informed, and acting! We really believe in change. Let us have a common will and let us act together.
Please allow us to use the somewhat unpleasant example of the caterpillar which, in its chrysalis, transforms itself into a butterfly. Let us dare to transform ourselves by becoming better for ourselves and for others.
The Qur'an tells us that God will not change anything in a nation’s fate unless the individuals change first.
Let us conclude with this invocation, “Lord, you are peace, from You comes peace, make us peacemakers. Amin.”