Calls to heed religious peculiarities in human rights

Muslim experts meeting in Rabat took part of an international seminar on "Human Rights in Islam" called for heeding religious and cultural peculiarities in handling human rights-related issues.

Participants called for respecting reservations made by Muslim countries to certain articles of the international convention on human rights, articles that are deemed contradictory to Islam, they said.

Given the sacred value Islam gives to life, the experts denounced all acts of terrorism perpetrated by individuals, groups or countries. They called civil society activists in Muslim countries to convey the true image of tolerant Islam and to stand up against all attempts the tarnish this image.

Sponsored by Saudi Arabia's cultural center in Morocco, the seminar debated issues pertaining to the rights of non-Muslims in Islam, the role of NGOs in human rights protection and the state's responsibilities in this connection.