Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi

In an era when religion is frequently weaponised to inflame political passions and polarise societies, history offers a powerful counter-narrative rooted in coexistence and mutual respect. More than 1,400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad issued the “Medina Charter”, a groundbreaking social contract that established principles of citizenship, religious freedom and inter-communal solidarity between Muslims, Jews and pagan tribes of the city-state of Medina.

In 2019, drawing direct inspiration from this document, more than 1,200 Islamic scholars from across the world convened in Saudi Arabia to produce the “Makkah Charter”— a bold manifesto urging Muslims and global leaders alike to reject hate speech, defend religious freedom and build peaceful, pluralistic societies. Thus, together, the Medina Charter and Makkah Charter represent Islam’s own constitutional legacy of tolerance that is often forgotten in public discourse dominated either by radical Islamist interpretations or Islamophobic caricatures.

At a time when identity politics is tearing apart communities from India to Europe to the United States, these charters serve as historical and contemporary evidence that Islam, when read in its authentic spirit, promotes coexistence, not conflict.

The Medina Charter: A 7th-Century Constitution 

When Prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina in 622 CE, he entered a city divided by clan rivalries and ethnic loyalties. Instead of seeking domination, he initiated an unprecedented act of political statesmanship — drafting and ratifying a written constitution that bound Muslims, Jews, and polytheist tribes into a single political community (ummah). “Nahnu Ummah Wahidah” — we are One Nation — declares the very first clause of the Charter of Medina, setting the tone for a society built not on tribe or creed, but on shared citizenship and collective responsibility. “By declaring all residents of Medina as one Ummah — Muslims and non-Muslims alike — the Prophet (PBUH) was not dissolving difference, but dignifying it,” writes the late Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, noted Indian Islamic scholar and peace theorist.

Key clauses of the Medina Charter reflected unprecedented principles of civic equality for its time. It recognised all residents of Medina — Muslims, Jews, and other tribes — as equal citizens, establishing a shared political identity that transcended religious affiliation. Instead of privileging one community over another, the Charter created a unified civic framework grounded in mutual dignity. Religious freedom was explicitly protected. The Charter affirmed the unrestricted right of Jews and other non-Muslim tribes to practice their faith and worship without coercion or interference. This declaration of theological autonomy positioned belief as a matter of conscience, not compulsion — centuries before modern notions of religious liberty took form.

Beyond granting rights, the Charter also enforced responsibilities. It instituted a collective defence pact, binding all communities to protect one another in times of external threat. To ensure fairness, it further upheld justice and due process as universal obligations, requiring that disputes be resolved according to principles agreed upon by all signatories rather than tribal bias or arbitrary power.

In modern terminology, the Medina Charter was nothing less than a charter of minority rights and interfaith harmony. Western scholar Montgomery Watt called it “a remarkable political document for its time”, while Islamic jurists see it as the world’s first written constitution guaranteeing religious pluralism. In the words of Dr John L. Esposito, Professor of Islamic Studies, Georgetown University, “The Charter of Medina is perhaps the first written constitution in history to guarantee the rights of religious minorities. It is a document Europe only caught up with many centuries later.” Yet in today’s debates, Islam is often portrayed either through the lens of medieval conquest or extremist ideology. The reason is not difficult to see. As Karen Armstrong, historian of religions and author of “Muhammad: Prophet of our Time”, puts it, and rightly so: “Religions don’t fail people — people fail religions when they refuse to live up to their highest values.” The Medina Charter disrupts both binaries — it shows that the Prophet of Islam was not just a spiritual leader but also a pluralist lawmaker who institutionalised coexistence.

The Makkah Charter

In May 2019, during the holy month of Ramadan, a rare consensus emerged in the Muslim world. Scholars representing 139 nationalities gathered at the Muslim World League conference in Makkah, chaired by Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. Their mission was to reclaim the true spirit of Islam from both extremists and Islamophobes.

With an emphasis on pluralism enshrined in the Qur’an and authentic hadiths which highlight how the Prophet emphasised justice, forgiveness, and coexistence, it especially invoked Islamic events like the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and the Charter of Medina. As a result, a 30-point declaration titled “the Makkah Charter”, echoing the principles of the Medina Charter, was drafted. It calls for these five key reforms: (1) Protection of religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries. (2) Rejection of sectarianism, racism and hate speech in the name of Islam. (3) Equal citizenship for non-Muslims, overriding discriminatory interpretations. (4) Empowering women and youth in leadership roles. (5) Rejecting war-mongering fatwas and religious manipulation for political gain.

Unlike abstract resolutions, the Makkah Charter was not merely symbolic. It has since been endorsed by well-versed Islamic theologians, established Muslim scholars with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and promoted in several Arab and African countries as a reference for communal lawmaking. In the words of Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary-General, Muslim World League, the Makkah Charter is to our time what the Charter of Medina was to the Prophet’s time — a moral constitution for coexistence.”

In 2022, Nigeria adopted parts of it to frame interfaith peace initiatives, while Indonesia incorporated its principles into educational curricula.

Now Malaysia’s active support of the Makkah Charter underscores its role as a champion of Islamic pluralism and religious freedom within the Muslim world, signalling a regional model for implementing the Charter’s vision of coexistence and mutual respect. At a recent conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, titled “The Role of Religious Leaders in Resolving Conflicts,” co-hosted by the Muslim World League (MWL) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, religious leaders reaffirmed their commitment to peace, interfaith dialogue, and the principles outlined in the Makkah Charter.

Former President of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Munib Younan succinctly says, “The Makkah Charter is not a Muslim-only manifesto. It is a human charter. If implemented sincerely, it will redefine interfaith relations across continents.” The significance of the Makkah Charter is not limited to intra-Muslim reform. It is, in many ways, a global peace document with real diplomatic implications. At the recent conference titled “The Role of Religious Leaders in Resolving Conflicts,” jointly hosted by the Muslim World League (MWL) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur, religious leaders from across continents underscored the need to resolve the Israel-Gaza conflict through the two-state solution. Their unified appeal not only highlighted the urgent moral responsibility of faith communities in ending cycles of bloodshed but also brought renewed attention to the MWL’s growing role as a global peace broker within the Muslim world and beyond.

This shift is significant. Unlike traditional political summits that are constrained by diplomatic caution, faith-based forums like these can speak with moral clarity. They create bridges where states hesitate. Whether in the Middle East, South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa, religious leaders are increasingly being recognised not just as spiritual guides but as conflict mediators capable of soft diplomacy or ‘faith diplomacy’. The significance of the Makkah Charter is not limited to intra-Muslim reform. It is, in many ways, a global document relevant to Christians in Africa facing persecution, Jews in Europe dealing with rising anti-Semitism, Hindus and Sikhs navigating diaspora anxieties, and atheists defending their right to disbelief.

Why These Charters Matter for India!

Justice Kurian Joseph of the Supreme Court once said: “India doesn’t need imported models of harmony — our own history and the Prophet’s [Medina] Charter show that unity is strongest when rooted in justice, not uniformity.”

India, home to the world’s second-largest Muslim population, has a long history of Hindu-Muslim coexistence but is today facing troubling spikes in hate campaigns, mob violence and online radicalism. Communal actors — from Islamists to hyper-nationalists — often act as mirror images of each other, feeding off mutual suspicion. In such a landscape, Muslim leadership in India, both clerical and intellectual, could benefit from invoking the Makkah Charter as a unifying covenant. It allows Muslims to take a principled stance against not only Islamophobia but also internal sectarianism and reactionary politics.

At the same time, it signals to non-Muslim compatriots that Islamic ethics at their core do not justify any form of coercion or supremacism. When propagated correctly, the Makkah Charter can rebuild trust between communities by demonstrating that Muslims are religiously bound to uphold pluralism.

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The Makkah Charter, inspired by the Medina Covenant, reminds us Muslims in India that religion need not be a dividing line; it must be a bridge. They prove that faith communities can voluntarily agree to peaceful coexistence without erasing their identities. This is not secularism as mere neutrality — it is ethical pluralism rooted in shared responsibility.

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is the author of “ISHQ SUFIYANA: Untold Stories of Divine Love”