Morocco summit pushes Muslim clerics to improve the lot of religious minorities

[CopyBoy]

MARRAKESH, Morocco (RNS) After the Prophet Muhammad established the first Muslim state, he wrote the Charter of Medina to make sure his subjects lived in harmony, whether they were Muslims, Jews or people of other faiths.

Nearly 1,400 years later, hundreds of religious scholars met in Marrakesh in a bid to revive the charter to protect religious minorities in Muslim communities today.

The scholars recognize a worldwide crisis: The so-called Islamic State is killing Christians, Yazidis and others and imposing its harsh orthodoxy on millions in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa. Tensions between Sunni and Shiite leaders throughout the region are escalating, too.

religionnews.com/2016/01/27/morocco-summit-pushes-muslim-clerics-improve-lot-religious-minorities/