Muslim Leader: ‘We Cannot Sit Home and Act Like Nothing Is Happening’

WASHINGTON- Earlier this year more than 250 Muslim religious leaders, scholars, and heads of state gathered in Morocco to release the Marrakesh Declaration, a landmark document calling upon predominately Muslim countries to defend religious minorities against persecution.

The document is meant to encourage Muslim leaders to fight extremism in their own countries in response to the brutal persecution of religious minorities such as Christians and Yazidis by ISIS.

Experts gathered at the National Press Club to discuss the significance of the declaration and what it hopes to accomplish. 

"It is a very active market of ideas, use your head, see what looks more humanistic, what is more consistent with the Quran and the Hadid," says University of Richmond Law Professor Azizah al-Hibri. "The more we talk about it, the more people know. I'm not trying to imply that our people all over the world are ignorant of the basics of Islam, many of them do know, but some might not, and that is why it is our duty to teach."

"We cannot sit home and act like nothing is happening," continued Professor al-Hibri, who founded KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights.  

***Click Play above to see CBN News Reporter Abigail Robertson's interview with Professor al-Hibri***

The Marrakesh Declaration draws verses from the Quran that support religious liberty and explicitly say no one should be coerced into religion.

"The Quran says very clearly no coercion in religion," says Professor al-Hibri. "There is no compulsion in religion, no coercion in religion stated very clearly."

Skeptics of the declaration argue that although it's a step in the right direction, it still does not grant religious freedom protection to non-Muslims against blasphemy or apostasy, crimes that notoriously lead to death penalties and imprisonment for Christians.