Source: World Watch Monitor, September 21, 2017
The King of Bahrain has sought to promote his country as a global champion of religious tolerance, with a declaration that advocates freedom of religion for all and rejects extremism.
In the Bahrain Declaration, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa “unequivocally reject[s] compelled observance.”
The one-page pledge, which was co-sponsored by the Jewish US-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, also calls for the condemnation of terrorism, of stirring up extremism, of suicide bombing, and of sexual slavery.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center’s associate dean and social action head, told World Watch Monitor that Muslim, Christian, and Jewish scholars had looked over the king’s text before it was published. He added that it was the first such declaration by the head of an Arab state. “We hope to take this text and get sign-offs from leaders around the world of all faiths,” he said, adding that the king had also pledged to build a center akin to the Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance.
» Full story points out that this declaration stops short of specifically stating that Muslims can leave Islam for another religion.
» Also read Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive (New York Times).