St. Petersburg Declaration

St. Petersburg Declaration is a manifesto and affirmation of Human Rights and Freedom of thought for Muslims and non-Muslims in the Muslim world released in March 2007 in St.Petersburg Florida, by a group of leading Muslim thinkers and reformers.

The St. Petersburg Declaration has been endorsed by notable scholars such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali , Magdi Allam, Mithal al-Alusi, Shaker Al-Nabulsi, Nonie Darwish, Afhin Ellian, Tawfik Hamid, Shahriar Kabir, Hasan Mahmud, Wafa Sultan, Amir Taheri, Ibn Warraq, Manda Zand Ervin,
Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

Text of the declaration

*"We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.
*"We affirm the inviolable freedom of the individual conscience. We believe in the equality of all human persons."
*"We insist upon the separation of religion from state and the observance of universal human rights."
*"We find traditions of liberty, rationality, and tolerance in the rich histories of pre-Islamic and Islamic societies. These values do not belong to the West or the East; they are the common moral heritage of humankind."
*"We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called “Islamaphobia” in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason or rights."
*"We call on the governments of the world to reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostasy, in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights; eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage, that further the oppression of women; protect sexual and gender minorities from persecution and violence; reform sectarian education that teaches intolerance and bigotry towards non-Muslims; and foster an open public sphere in which all matters may be discussed without coercion or intimidation."
*"We demand the release of Islam from its captivity to the totalitarian ambitions of power-hungry men and the rigid strictures of orthodoxy."
*"We enjoin academics and thinkers everywhere to embark on a fearless examination of the origins and sources of Islam, and to promulgate the ideals of free scientific and spiritual inquiry through cross-cultural translation, publishing, and the mass media."
*"We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine; to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha’is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens; and to nonbelievers: we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent."
*"Before any of us is a member of the Umma, the Body of Christ, or the Chosen People, we are all members of the community of conscience, the people who must chose for themselves."

External References

*Edmonton Sun: [http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/2007/03/10/pf-3725700.html Pulling Muslims from Dark Age]
*World Net Daily: [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54570 Muslims issue manifesto against radical Islam]
*The Times: [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1480090.ece How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam]