The Prospects and Problems of the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Muslim Majority Communities

Abstract

The aim of the Marrakesh Declaration is to tackle discriminatory practices against religious minorities living under Muslim majority rule through the promotion of religious pluralism. Nevertheless, the realization of this aim continues to generate debate among scholars. This paper raises and analyzes the following questions. Who are the religious minorities in Muslim majority states? What is the cause of their persecution? What theories explain the problem? How unique is this approach to human right norms, and how different is the Marrakesh Declaration compared to similar initiatives like the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights 1990? The paper finds that the Marrakesh Declaration focuses on one aspect of religious pluralism to the exclusion of others. The paper argues that human rights norms viewed through the framework of Islam and presented as tools for negotiation instead of norms that are universal, and by extension higher than sharia norms, in Muslim majority societies are more appropriate than the Medina Charter as framework for the achievement of the objectives of the Marrakesh Declaration.