Promote Islamic human rights, says Malaysia's DPM

BANGI: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today urged Muslim NGOs to promote the Islamic perspective of human rights in the wake of an onslaught by a brand of human rights from the West that promotes secularism and liberalism.

“The human rights values of the West with secularand liberal agenda is clearly different from human rights within the Islamic perspective,” he said while delivering the closing address at the Muslim NGO Congress in UKM this evening.

“They are promoting human rights values that deviate from our faith. This includes the belief towards limitless individual rights that goes against the tenets and values of Islam,” he added.

Muhyiddin also stressed that Islam had never denied the importance of human rights which forms the basis for the freedom of an individual.

“It is a responsibility of every individual to ensure that the rights are not abused,” he said.

He quoted Quranic verses that stressed the right to life, right to justice and freedom of speech and thought to illustrate that Islam is human rights friendly.

He also pointed out that Muslims were against human rights that goes against the tenets of Islam.

“This includes the right to leave Islam in the name of freedom of faith.  The same can be said of the right to have inter-faith marriage and the practice of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lifestyle,” he said.

He also urged Muslim NGOs to refer to the 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam as a guideline to promote human rights within the Islamic context.

“I believe the content of the Cairo Declaration can be used as a guideline for Muslim countries to promote an understanding of human rights according to Islamic perspective,” he said to 2,105 participants who represented 198 Muslim NGOs.

No BN campaigning in Teluk Intan

Earlier Muhyiddin accepted the congress’ six point resolution.

The congress called for the government to protect the status of Islam.  It also called for Muslim unity that would strengthen Islam and Muslim’s political will.

In the economic sphere, the congress called for the eradication of economic literacy among Muslims and the transformation of government linked corporations into strategic access points to allow the development of Muslim entrepreneurs.

The congress called all parties to defend the status of Islam in the country and is supporting the formation of an Islamic-based human rights centre called Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA).

It has also called upon the government to provide full support towards the enhancement of Islamic education institutions at all levels.

Meanwhile in a separate issue, Muhyiddin announced that Umno would replace its programmes in Teluk Intan with prayer sessions as a mark of respect to the late Perak Ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah who passed away this afternoon at the National Heart Institute.

The prayer sessions would be held until the late sultan’s burial ceremony is completed.