Persian Empire (538 BC)
Everyone is free to choose a religion:
Cyrus the Great, Emperor of Persia
issued a clay cylinder on which he decreed, arguably, the first
ever human rights charter of the civilsied world.
I am Kourosh (Cyrus), King of
the world, great king, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of the
land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters....
Now that I put the crown of the kingdom of Iran, Babylon, and the
nations of the four directions on my head with the help of Ahura-Mazda,
I announce that I will respect the
traditions, customs and religions of the nations of my empire and
never let any of my governors and subordinates look down on or insult
them as long as I shall live. From now on, while Ahura-Mazda lets
me rule, I will impose my monarchy on no nation. Each is free to
accept it, and if any one of them rejects it, I shall never resolve
on war to reign. As long as I am the king of Iran, Babylon,
and the nations of the four directions, I will never let anyone
oppress any others, and if it occurs , I will take his or her right
back and penalise the oppressor.
And while I am the monarch, I will never let anyone take possession
of movable and landed properties of the others by force or without
compensation. While I am alive, I will prevent unpaid, forced labour.
Today, I announce that everyone is
free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all
regions and take up a job provided that they never violate others'
rights.
No one could be penalised for his or her relatives' faults. I shall
prevent slavery and my governors and vassals are obliged to prohibit
exchanging men and women as slaves within their own ruling domains.
Such a traditions should be exterminated the world over.
I implore to Ahura-Mazda to make me succeed in fulfilling my obligations
to the nations of Iran, Babylon, and the ones of the four directions.
Arabia (AD 630)
if you refuse to accept Islam, your power shall
vanish....:
The following is the text of the ultimatum the
Prophet Mohamad sent to Abd bin el-Julanda and Jaifer bin el-Julanda
joint-rulers of Oman through the intermediary of his military commanders,
'Amr bin al-'As and Abu Zaid al-Ansari.
In the name of Allah the compassionate, the merciful.
From Mohamed, messenger of Allah to Jaifer and Abd, sons of Julanda.
Peace be upon the one who follows the right path! I call you to
Islam. Accept my call, and you shall be unharmed. I am Allah's Messenger
to mankind, and the word shall be carried out upon the miscreants.
If, therefore, you recognise Islam, I shall bestow power upon you.
But if you refuse to accept Islam,
your power shall vanish, my horses shall camp on the expanse of
your territory and my prophecy shall prevail in your kingdom.
United States of America (AD 1789)
 Bill
of Rights
Passed by Congress 25 September 1789
Ratified 15 December 1791
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress
of grievances
State of Israel (AD 1948)
Declaration of Israel's Independence
 THE
STATE OF ISRAEL ....will promote the development of the country
for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts
of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will
uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens,
without distinction of race, creed
or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education
and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the
shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate
itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations....
In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants
of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their
part in the development of the State, with full and equal citizenship
and due representation in its bodies and institutions - provisional
or permanent.
We offer peace and unity to all the neighboring states and their
peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish
nation for the common good of all.
To date only three states
where Islam is the official religion have heeded this invitation
and recognised the state of Israel. They are the
Maldives, Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Maldives
withdrew recognition after the abolition of the monarchy and the
end of the secular-leaning republican administration (1968 - 1978)
that succeeded the monarchy.
The United Nations General Assembly (AD 1948)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article
18):
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief
in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
(Saudi Arabia and the then Communist
states abstained from voting)
Islamic countries that tolerate minorities
Pact of Omar
Most Islamic countries,
with the notable exception of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the
Republic of the Maldives, tolerate certain non-Muslims. The terms
of this tolerance, to this day, is based on the Pact of Omar. Muslims
regard that discriminating against non-Muslims, as enshrined in
the Pact of Omar, is an absolute right of Muslims. The irony is
that the very same Muslims living in countries such as New Zealand,
the United States, Great Britain and elsewhere regard that it is
their inalienable right to be treated equally with other residents
of these "infidel" states. Creaming off the best of both
worlds appears to be reduced to a fine art.
The Pact of Omar was
the terms of truce dictated by Omar bin el-Khattab, second successor
to Mohamed, originally to the Christians of Syria. It was written
as an offer from the Christians in Jerusalem:
In the name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate.
This is a letter to the servant of Allah Omar ibn al-Khattab, Commander
of the Faithful, from the Christians of Jerusalem. When you came
against us, we asked you for safe-conduct for ourselves, our descendants,
our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook
the following obligations toward you:
- We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood,
new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks' cells, nor shall
we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or
are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.
- We shall keep our gates wide open for passersby and travelers.
We shall give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way
for three days.
- We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our dwellings
to any spy, nor bide him from the Muslims.
- We shall not teach the Koran to our children.
- We shall not manifest our religion publicly nor convert anyone
to it. We shall not prevent any of our kin from entering Islam
if they wish it.
- We shall show respect toward the Muslims, and we shall rise
from our seats when they wish to sit.
- We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of
their garments, the qalansuwa, the turban, footwear,
or the parting of the hair. We shall not speak as they do, nor
shall we adopt their kunyas.
- We shall not mount on saddles, nor shall we gird swords nor
bear any kind of arms nor carry them on our- persons.
- We shall not engrave Arabic inscriptions on our seals.
- We shall not sell fermented drinks.
- We shall clip the fronts of our heads.
- We shall always dress in the same way wherever we may be, and
we shall bind the zunar round our waists
- We shall not display our crosses or our books in the roads or
markets of the Muslims. We shall use only clappers in our churches
very softly. We shall not raise our voices when following our
dead. We shall not show lights on any of the roads of the Muslims
or in their markets. We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims.
- We shall not take slaves who have been allotted to Muslims.
- We shall not build houses overtopping the houses of the Muslims.
- We shall not strike a Muslim.
- We shall not buy anyone made prisoner by the Muslims,
- Whosoever amongst us that strikes a Muslim with deliberate intent
shall forfeit the protection of this pact.
We accept these conditions for ourselves and
for the people of our community, and in return we receive safe-conduct.
If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves
stand surety, we forfeit our Covenant, and we become liable to the
penalties for contumacy and sedition.
(Adapted from Siraj al-Muluk. Al-Turtushi,
, pp. 229-230)
The Maldives (AD 2004)
Maldive nationals must have the freedom to remain
in a religion of their choice:
Aa-Fathis newspaper. 8 November 2004.
pp 1 and 7
The President of the Republic
has stated that Maldive nationals too must have the freedom to remain
in a religion of their choice and that no group may be permitted
to interfere with that freedom.
'Maldive nationals wish to remain a 100%
Muslim nation' the President of the Republic said.....Should
the religion that Maldive nationals choose be Islam then it is their
right to remain Muslims. There ought to be no opportunity for any
external elements to act in relation to that right. That is something
that neither our religion nor international principles permit. The
President of the Republic said that Islam is the religion that was
sent as a mercy unto mankind by the noble Allah and it is the most
noble religion.
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