South Sudan’s Muslims council says Islamic principles respect human rights
By Ngor Arol Garang
August 3, 2011 (JUBA) – The Council of Muslims in the newly established state of South Sudan has said that Islamic rules were not created to go against Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Speaking at a meal to break the fast (iftar) during the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday, the chairperson of the council Atir Bior, said that there was a misinterpretation by some people that Islamic rules were against human rights.
Bior said that Islam was a blessed religion that pays attention to the human rights and that it has been always there to promote the basic rights of all human beings.
”Islamic rules on Declaration on Human rights and Islam pays attention to the UDHR and it has come to improve and promote the human rights to the highest level”, he said.
Bior also cautioned some of the superpower nations which have been using the UDHR as a political tool for their own interest to win global influence.
”Some countries particularly the western countries have been using their powers to make a UDHR a political tool with which they use to obtain what they want…it should be understood that there is a remarkable difference between a right and power,” he said.
He asked South Sudanese Muslims to observe International Islamic Human Rights day which is celebrated on August 5 annually and advised all people to respect the basic human rights.
He added the Cairo Declaration on Human rights in Islam was established for the purpose of serving as a general guidance for member states in the field of human rights. Bior also dismissed allegations that the Muslims in the South Sudan are not free to exercise religious practice.
“First of all, I allow me take this opportunity to thank our president, the president of the new Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, for patience he has shown during the tempting and provocative times of interim period and for becoming the first president”, said Bior.
Salva Kiir was sworn in as South Sudan’s first president on July 9 after referendum in January, agreed as part of a 2005 peace deal, saw an overwhelmingly vote for the Islamic dominated north.
“Allow me also to thank the people of South Sudan for voting overwhelmingly at the referendum held in January this year, to form an independent nation in which we become first class citizens in our own country. This was the right of our people which Muslims respected and supported. You have seen that Islamic leadership came to Juba to witness proclamation of flag of new independent nation of South Sudan”, he said.
Bior explained that Muslims in South Sudan do not face any problems in exercising their religious practices.
He added that Muslims in the country are citizens of South Sudan and that it is their rights to live anywhere and practice the religion of their choice.
South Sudan is home to mainly people with Christian or traditional Africa beliefs. One of the triggers for the second North-South civil war (1983-2005) was the implementation of Islamic Shari’a law across the whole country including the Christian south.
“The allegations that we are facing challenges in exercising our religious practices are not correct. We are part of the free citizens and so we are also free to worship any other religion anywhere here (South Sudan). Our mosques are opened and functioning”, he said explaining that” first of all we are south Sudanese, so we have the right to live anywhere in the south”.
(ST)