Participants of a conference, organized by the Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI), a broad based Islamic organization, affirm that all humans everywhere possess inherent dignity and immutable rights: these including freedom from poverty, oppression, fear and prejudice and freedom of belief, worship and expression.

“We, the signatories to this ‘London Declaration for Global Peace & Resistance against Extremism’, affirm that all humans everywhere possess inherent dignity and immutable rights: these including freedom from poverty, oppression, fear and prejudice and freedom of belief, worship and expression,” a statement posted on Minhaj-ul-Quran International website said.

The declaration was announced at the end of the Peace for Humanity Conference, organized by Minhaj-ul-Quran International and held under the auspices of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, at the Wembley Arena in London on Saturday 24 September 2011.

“This declaration is being launched by Muslims for the Muslims of the world and for the rest of humanity.”

According to Reuters more than 12,000 British Muslims were expected to attend the conference at Wembley arena in London, which aims to present the merciful and peaceful personality of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to the wider western Muslim youth, as well as non-Muslims, and how his life and teachings are relevant to our situation today.

The conference brought together a selection of speakers to discuss the various aspects of the life and personality of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), for us to remember God’s greatest favor to us, and to enlighten the public on various aspects of his life, personality and traits, in order for them to appreciate him and at the same time clarify misconceptions and misunderstandings.

Declaration

We the signatories to this declaration send a message of peace and fraternity to all of humanity’s innumerable states, nations, communities and individuals along with a call for respect, dignity, compassion, equality, solidarity and justice for, and between, all people.

We address our call for peace, tolerance and respect to all people everywhere, but especially to political and religious leaders and decision-makers as well as to scholars, teachers and journalists.

While we recognize the unique differences between faiths, cultures and communities, and we recognize that all people gain happiness and identity from what they consider to be unique, we declare that all humans everywhere possess immutable rights and values that transcend all political boundaries and philosophies and are inherent and important in all religious faiths and creeds.

Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and those of other religions, along of course with all people who do not identify with any faith, must enjoy the same civil and legal rights and freedoms and be able to live in peace and harmony and must pursue peace only through mutually respectful engagement and dialogue.

We reject unequivocally all terrorism because at the heart of all religions is a belief in the sanctity of the lives of the innocent. The indiscriminate nature of terrorism, which has in recent years killed far more civilians and other non-combatants than it has combatants, is un-Islamic, un-Judaic, un-Christian and it is indeed incompatible with the true teachings of all faiths. Because of its manifestly indiscriminate and therefore murderous nature, we condemn all terrorism in all forms and in all countries regardless of any claimed religious and political intentions.

We unequivocally reject, disown and condemn all terrorism committed in the name of Islam, just as we reject and condemn all terrorism committed in the names of other religions or causes. Terrorism is never a legitimate and honorable act of war but is always a cowardly act of indiscriminate murder.

We reject as mistaken and spurious any assertions made by both Muslims and non-Muslims that the world is currently locked in an inexorable struggle between Islam and the West and we commit ourselves, through positive and mutually respectful engagement and dialogue, to oppose any and all claims of clashes of civilizations or the incompatibility of the values in various regions, states and communities.

We support efforts by international agencies, governments and communities to protect the world’s citizens from terrorism; we commit ourselves to assisting in the de-radicalization of those groups and individuals who might mistakenly believe that their religion tolerates indiscriminate and wanton violence.

Whereas we do not overlook the real or perceived grievances that may serve as a causative fuel for terrorist violence — and we call upon all national and local governments to address those grievances with haste and resolve — we commit ourselves to the non-violent resolution of those issues as well as to the removal through education and dialogue of conspiracy theories that seem to blinker some peoples’ worldviews.

We welcome the wave of popular and generally peaceful uprisings against tyranny and oppression known as “the Arab Spring” and we recognize that it is a rights-based, not religion-based, movement which is compatible with the universal human rights and aspirations mentioned above.

We call on all international agencies and governments to support with clarity and resolve the liberty-motivated Arabs, Berbers and other Muslims and we call upon them to do so in a non-martial, impartial, transparent and well-communicated manner that will enhance trust and establish bonds of good will.

We the signatories to this declaration believe that the too-long-running conflict between Israel and Palestine needs to be resolved urgently and with scrupulous fairness.

We affirm the necessity urgently to resolve this conflict so as to provide both the Palestinians with a sovereign pluralistic and representative state and the Israelis with national and local security. If it is to be permanent and durable, the peace agreement between Israel and Palestine must be fully and actively supported and protected in a non-partisan fashion by the international community and its terms must be equally beneficial to the citizens of both states who have for so long feared and mistrusted each other.

We call for the promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms, equality between men and women, and the cardinal values of humanity such as reconciliation, forgiveness, generosity and solidarity.

We declare that there is no difference between an Arab and a Jew, between a Muslim and a Christian, between a Hindu and a Sikh, between a black person and a white person, or between a man and a woman. All humans are equal and must be treated with equal respect, dignity, compassion, equality, solidarity and justice.

We unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism (including when sometimes it is disingenuously clothed as anti-Zionism), Islamophobia (including when it is sometimes disingenuously dressed up as patriotism) and all other forms of racism and xenophobia.

We call on all Muslims and other minorities living in the West to respect all the laws of the country in which they are living whether they possess the status of citizen or resident.

We call on the Muslims, the governments and the elites of the West to promote integration and citizenship, the only solution for peaceful co-existence and cohesion.

We call on all governments to protect minorities against all hatred, intimidation and violence, especially from ultra-nationalism or religious intolerance.

We call for increasing aid for Africa, and other impoverished regions and nations of the world, in order to improve their living conditions, provide socio-economic and political stability, and realize the objectives of true democracy.

We call on the financial powers to introduce more humanity in their economic considerations. After both world wars, the stability of the European states is crucial for the world.

We call on the world governments to increase efforts for the alleviation of poverty, to combat illiteracy, proliferation of weapons, and threats to our natural environment.

11,000 participants at the Peace for Humanity Conference support this London Declaration for Global Peace & Resistance against Extremism.

Finally, we the signatories to this declaration call upon all people everywhere to express their agreement with our beliefs, expectations and aspirations by adding their own signatures to the declaration.