This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on December 7 - 13, 2015.

MUSLIM Democrats were urged to lead the ummah (society) in explaining the true meaning of “Islam as a mercy or blessing to all”, especially in today’s turbulent times, by the convener and co-founder of the International Conference of the World Forum for Muslim Democrats, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, at the Second International Conference in Jakarta.

His speech was read by Lembah Pantai MP and Keadilan vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar. Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Dr Anies Baswedan officiated at the conference, held on Nov 23 and 24. The plenary panel featured former Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan and Selangor Chief Minister Mohd Azmin Ali.

The event follows the success of the first conference, held in Kuala Lumpur last year, which established a common platform for leaders, intellectuals and professionals of the Islamic faith, together with their associates from other faiths and persuasions.

It gathered Muslim leaders and prominent democrats in Asia, the Middle East, Turkey and Europe to establish a platform for intellectual discussion on the promotion and strengthening of democracy and democratic movements in the Muslim world and generating a conversation on these topics between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

It is a bold initiative that unequivocally seeks to determine the narrative that freedom, justice, democracy and the rule of law are rightfully the Muslim agenda. It seeks to re-emphasise the true, peaceful and pluralistic nature of Islam as well as strive for an Islamic resurgence that ensures the rule of law, good governance, social justice and cultural empowerment, where there is no gender, ethnic or religious discrimination. It also aims to demonstrate the possible contributions of Muslim Democrats to the debate on the theory and practice of democracy throughout the world.

The conference was co-organised by The Habibie Center, Indonesia; Institute for Policy Research, Malaysia; SETA, Turkey; and Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan.

Four breakout sessions were held on four themes: Islamic State (ISIS), sectarian conflict and Islamic extremism; human rights and refugees (Rohingya and Syria); Islamophobia and minorities (Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries); and social justice and rule of law (non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries).

I was invited to be one of the speakers at the fourth breakout session. I divided my presentation into three aspects. Firstly, based on two contemporary rankings, that is the World Justice Project 2015 and the World Well-being Report 2015, Muslim countries are not placed among the Top 10 in the rankings, with Malaysia coming in at 39 and 61, respectively. This shows the notion of “Islam as a blessing to all”, in the context of social justice and rule of law, is probably not fully practised in Muslim countries.

Secondly, some countries, including Muslim countries, face various issues with regard to religious freedom. A significant portion of ordinary people, especially the minorities, are trying to navigate their daily lives away from religious intolerance, and some even face violent religious conflicts.

I quoted two reports on Asean: “Freedom of Religion and Belief in Southeast Asia” by the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) and Indonesia’s NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy, and “Keeping the Faith: A Study of Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion in Asean” by the Human Rights Resource Centre, University of Indonesia.

The main objectives of the reports are firstly, to guarantee the fundamental rights of everyone, regardless of religion, and secondly, to eliminate all forms of intolerance, discrimination and hate speech based on someone’s religion/belief.

Finally, in the context of religious freedom, I humbly proposed some recommendations, for example, dealing with the alignment of regulations between the Constitution and laws, repealing draconian laws, widening the public space for diversity, and formulating policies that protect the minorities.

At the end of the conference, The Habibie Center director Rahimah Abdulrahim read the conference resolution, which besides the usual calls, made some concrete proposals:

•    Education: To undertake education programmes/activities that target youths in the Muslim world to foster a new generation of Muslim Democrats;

•    Social justice, rule of law and economic aspects: To pursue social justice and rule of law by calling on governments in the Muslim world to fulfil the Islamic imperatives to provide, among other things, better health care, education, housing and employment in the spirit of Muslim Democrats;

•    Public outreach: To enhance media literacy and engage the media in undertaking a conversation for widening and deepening the people’s understanding of the common views of Muslim Democrats within and outside the Muslim world in order to reduce tensions between the Muslim and non-Muslim world; and

•    Annual reports: To publish a series of thematic annual reports for encouraging dialogues to promote Muslim Democrats.

Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is chief secretary of Pakatan Harapan and former deputy minister of Higher Education. He is active on twitter: @saifuddinabd

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