The Muslim world is vast, stretching from the Atlantic all the way around to Indonesia and the Pacific Ocean. In between are countries as diverse as Lebanon, as pluralistic as Malaysia and as populous as Pakistan.
The common denominator in all of those countries, however, is that they are majority Muslim and have religious minorities within them. Religious minorities exist in every Muslim country, whether they are Christians in Egypt, Yazidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan or Buddhists in Malaysia. And so the question of how the majority religious group interacts with the minority is a live question today, as indeed it has been for many hundreds of years.
In that respect, the UAE has some experience and can provide some guidance. Few countries in the region have been as open and accepting of other faiths in their midst. The country has houses of worship for Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.
It is appropriate then that Abu Dhabi is where the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in the Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities will be fleshed out. This declaration, established last year at the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, aims to stand as both a statement of intent and the beginning of policy in countries across the Muslim world.
The idea is to take the essence of the tolerance of other faiths that already exists in the Muslim tradition and create legal, religious and educational measures to ensure it is followed throughout society. When officials from 52 Muslim countries meet later this year in the capital, they will bring experts on religious freedom and legal experts together.
For the declaration to be successful, this tolerance cannot simply be words. It must be translated into policy. The most successful countries, not merely in the Muslim world, are those that are the most tolerant, that allow their minorities to play a full part in their societies and to worship as they see fit. The UAE has many years of experience and can help spread that message.
