1 I. INAUGURAL SESSION of the MEETING of INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS on HUMAN RIGHTS in ISLAM A) SUMMARY of the OPENING CEREMONY of TH
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I. INAUGURAL SESSION OF THE MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM a) SUMMARY OF THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM 15 May 2006, Monday, 9.00 AM-11.30 AM, Venue: Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1. The Meeting of International Experts on Human Rights in Islam ("MIEHRI"), organized by the Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia in collaboration with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia, was officially opened by The Honourable Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia. 2. The Opening Ceremony began with the recitation of the verses of the Holy Quran and Du'a. This was followed by the Welcome Speech delivered by The Honourable Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia. His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Wafik Zaher Kamil, the Secretary General of AALCO and His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Salleh S Alhudaithy, Deputy Minister of Justice, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia delivered their speeches and The Honourable Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia delivered the Opening Speech. 3. The Opening Ceremony ended after the multimedia presentation on MIEHRI, photography session and the press conference. b) WELCOME SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE TAN SRI ABDUL GANI PATAIL, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MALAYSIA The Honourable Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia; The Honourable Dato' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia; His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Salleh S. Alhudaithy, Deputy Minister for Judicial Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Wafik Zaher Kamil, Secretary General of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization, Your Excellencies Ministers of Justice, Attorneys General, distinguished experts, Representatives of AALCO Member States, Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, Assalamualaikum and a very good morning. 1. First and foremost, allow me to express my deepest appreciation to The Honourable Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, for gracing us with his presence and agreeing to officiate at the Opening Ceremony of the Meeting of International Experts on Human Rights in Islam. My deepest 1 gratitude also goes to The Honourable Dato' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia, for agreeing to co-sponsor this Meeting as well as her generous support of the arrangements that have been made to ensure that this Meeting is a success. 2. My appreciation also goes to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their collaboration in this Meeting through the presence of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Salleh S. Alhudaithy, the Deputy Minister for Judicial Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and four of their experts. Last but not least, I must express my satisfaction at the overwhelming response from the experts who have agreed to participate in this first meeting of its kind in the Asia-African region. For the record, my Chambers and I were extremely but pleasantly surprised to receive positive responses from 43 of the 67 experts who were invited based on the lists suggested by the AALCO, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as the Government of Malaysia. Malaysia is indeed honoured to host such eminent persons drawn from the highest levels of the judiciary, academia, the legal profession and other relevant disciplines. 3. Malaysia has strived to gather together a diverse group of experts to facilitate an in-depth discussion on the current issue of human rights in Islam. It is our hope that our effort will produce the concrete study on this subject as mandated by the 44th Session of AALCO through Res/44/S 16 of 1 July 2005. My officers and I are here to assist the experts in this endeavour. However very much depends on you, the experts, if this target will be achieved and whether this Meeting will identify and produce any practical recommendations and programme of action to further enhance international understanding and tolerance as well as mutual respect among all human beings, regardless of ethnic origin or religious affiliation. 4. My task as the Chairperson of the Meeting of International Experts on Human Rights in Islam (MIEHRI) has already been made easier through the presence of so many experts in the field of human rights and in Islam. As Chairperson of MIEHRI, I seek your further co-operation and assistance throughout the forthcoming plenary sessions and working groups to ensure that the proceedings run smoothly without impinging on the freedom of open discussion on the issues identified in the Meeting‘s agenda. However, time being a precious commodity during this five-day Meeting, I must also stress the need for all participants to focus their attention, comments and suggestions on the issues and not be distracted by political and personal agendas. 5. I must also strongly emphasize that this Meeting should not be used as a forum for lashing out at those we deem to be "against" those from the Muslim community. That is not why Malaysia undertook to host this event. This Meeting is not being held to score or make any points. We are gathered here solely for one and only purpose, to have a forum for open discourse on the problems and challenges of upholding the principles of human rights in Islam for all Muslim brethren - men, women and children. 6. For this purpose, I gravely urge the Plenary Chairpersons and Conveners to not only be fair facilitators but also to ensure that discussions remain focused on the issues at 2 hand. Without this strong admonition, I will have failed in my duties as Chairperson of MIERHI because inevitably this Meeting will fail to achieve the objectives set out by the AALCO. 7. The challenge facing the Islamic community in dealing with human rights in Islam must be met with educated and principled arguments built on the principles of Islamic law. This august gathering of experts is the perfect opportunity for us to do so, or at least make a start. Let us not waste this golden opportunity. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a successful Meeting. Thank you. c) STATEMENT BY H.E. AMB. DR. WAFIK ZAHER KAMIL, SECRETARY GENERAL, ASIAN AFRICAN LEGAL CONSULTATIVE ORGANISATION Hon‘ble Dato‘ Seri Mohammed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister‘s Department of Malaysia Hon‘ble Dato‘ Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia H.E. Dr. Abdullah Saleh S. Alhidaithy, Deputy Minister for Judicial Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Hon‘ble Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General of Malaysia and Chairman, MIEHRI Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies, and Gentlemen 1. At the outset, I would like to welcome you all to this important —Meeting of International Experts on Human Rights in Islam“, on behalf of Asian African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) and on my own behalf. I am very much honored to have the opportunity to participate in this extremely important Meeting organized by the Government of Malaysia in collaboration with the AALCO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and it would serve as another milestone in the history of the Organisation. Excellencies, 2. I would like to seize this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Government of Malaysia and H.E.Hon.Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia for making these exceptional arrangements for an exceptional topic. I am confident that this five day Meeting would be an excellent opportunity for the Member States of AALCO, intellectuals and scholars to address various topics regarding Islamic law and to explore the human rights principles in Islam with a view to reflecting the shining image of Islam, in general and the issue of human rights in Islam, in particular. I wish that this Meeting would have focused and fruitful discussions on the topics selected for deliberations. 3. It may be recalled that the idea of dealing with the topic —Human Rights in Islam“ 3 was taken up by AALCO at its 41st Session (Abuja, Nigeria, 2002) at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was deliberated in the subsequent Sessions. In the Forty- Fourth Session of AALCO held in Nairobi, Kenya (2005), the Head of the Delegation of Malaysia, H.E.Hon.Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General of Malaysia, proposed to convene an Expert Meeting comprising Member States of AALCO and a galaxy of scholars, experts and diplomats to achieve a concrete study in respect of the issue of human rights in Islam in its wider dimensions. This proposal was met by a unanimous approval. Therefore, the Malaysian Delegation expressed its preparedness to host the meeting of the experts in collaboration with the AALCO Secretariat and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the initiator of the subject matter. This Meeting is being convened pursuant to this decision. Excellencies, 4. As we all see, the topics to be deliberated are covering an excellent and wide range of subjects tackling almost all angles of this topic, with the aim to reflect its manifold dimensions. Firstly, this topic attains significance in the present context, as it has been a historical fact that there have been systematic efforts from certain quarters to malign Islam and its teachings. In the present context of targeting a particular religious faith in the ongoing ”war against terrorism‘, it is high time to emphasize that Islam advocates peace and peaceful coexistence. No verse in the Holy Quran preaches mass destruction of any group of people, nor does it allow for violence as a form of expression, nor the blind killing of innocent civilians including women and children, nor considers as martyrs those who commit suicide by blasting themselves with the aim of killing others.