Uzma Khatoon

The Charter of Makkah is not a new invention or a modern attempt to change Islam. It is, in fact, a powerful return to the origina message of peace, equality, and living together that began in the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

To understand the true spirit of the Makkah Charter, we must look at the Prophet’s example in the City of Medina. He migrated to the City in 622 CE and entered it as a broken man. For decades, different tribes had been fighting, and people were loyal only to their own ethnic group. The two main Arab tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, were locked in a cycle of bitter conflict. Instead of using force to take control, the Prophet made a farsighted political move.

He created a written constitution, which we now know as the Constitution of Medina. This historic document brought together Muslims, Jews, and other tribes into a single, unified community—the Ummah. The very first line, “We are one community,” laid the foundation for a new kind of society. It was a society built not on narrow tribal or religious identity, but on the revolutionary ideas of shared citizenship and collective responsibility for the safety and well-being of all.

This Constitution of Medina is from where the modern Makkah Charter was designed to amplify the message for the world.

The word Ummah is used several times in the Qur'an. It represents a unified community brought together by shared beliefs. At first, it referred to a group led by a prophet, but the idea grew to include all followers of Islam. As the faith spread across the world over the centuries, the Ummah was led by caliphs who organised the government and administration within the large Islamic community.

Prophet Muhammad laid the groundwork for this first Ummah by uniting the early Muslims with his teachings, but it was the Constitution of Medina that made this unity official. It emphasised that the bond of faith was more important than old family or tribal ties. It specifically welcomed Jewish tribes into the community as equal members with protected rights and freedoms.

This inclusivity was a central principle; being a member of Ummah was not just for Muslims; it was for anyone who accepted the Prophet's leadership and agreed to the terms of the charter.

This early diversity, which included people from different ethnic and social backgrounds, was encouraged through a system of brotherhood and sisterhood based on the shared moral principles of Islam. It was a radical shift away from the pre-Islamic idea of 'asabiyyah, where loyalty was owed only to one's own tribe, often leading to endless cycles of revenge and warfare.

The principles of the Medina Charter were truly ahead of their time. Religious freedom was clearly protected. The document recognised the absolute right of Jews and other non-Muslim tribes to practice their own religion and worship according to their own traditions, without being forced or bothered. This declaration of religious freedom established faith as a matter of personal choice, not something controlled by the state.

Along with these rights, the Charter also established clear responsibilities. It created a collective defence agreement that required all communities to protect one another if the city was attacked from the outside. Justice and the rule of law were treated as duties for everyone. This ensured that arguments were settled based on agreed-upon principles, not on tribal prejudice or the random use of power.

As Dr John L. Esposito, a respected Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, has said: “The Medina Charter may well be the first written constitution in history to guarantee the rights of religious minorities. It is a document Europe would discover only centuries later.”

The Prophet, therefore, was not only a spiritual guide but also a leader who created laws for a society of many faiths, making coexistence an official and protected part of the community.

However, the unified and inclusive vision of the original Ummah has faced enormous challenges over the centuries, especially because of the historical impact of colonialism. European empires began a period of colonisation that broke the Muslim world into pieces, starting with British conquests in India and later Africa.

After World War I, the occupation of Arab lands and the Sykes-Picot Agreement redrew the map of the region. It was divided along artificial nation-state lines that created deeper ethnic divisions and stopped any attempts at unity. Imperial powers used these divisions to their advantage, drawing borders without caring about cultural, linguistic, or religious connections. These colonial legacies, which have often been continued by modern nationalist movements, have greatly contributed to the disunity, fear of foreigners, and racism that weaken the original spirit of the Ummah.

It is a response to this broken modern reality that the Charter of Makkah finds its deep importance. In May 2019, during the holy month of Ramadan, a rare and historic agreement was reached. Over 1,200 Muslim scholars and leaders from 139 countries, representing 27 different sects and schools of thought, gathered in Makkah.

The conference was hosted by the Muslim World League and chaired by Dr Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. Their goal was not political but deeply moral: to take back the true, compassionate spirit of Islam from both extremists who twist its message and from Islamophobes.

The result was the 30-point Charter of Makkah, which clearly lays down five major reforms for the modern age. It calls for the protection of religious minorities in Muslim-majority nations, the condemnation of division, racism, and hate speech, the establishment of equal citizenship for non-Muslims, giving more power to women and youth in leadership, and a strong rejection of war fatwas and the use of religion for political gain.

This modern charter gets its strength and authority from the same sources as its historical predecessor: the Qur'an, the example of the Prophet, and the power of scholarly agreement, or ijma. In classical Islamic thought, when such a large and diverse group of scholars reaches an agreement, that agreement becomes an authoritative statement of mainstream belief.

This global consensus raises the Charter to a new level, sending a powerful message that tolerance, coexistence, and peace are the true foundations of Islam. The unity seen in Makkah—where Sunni, Shia, Sufi, and other groups stood together—was itself a living example that Islam’s core message goes beyond sectarian divisions. As Dr Al-Issa powerfully stated, "The Charter of Makkah is for our time what the Charter of Medina was for the time of the Prophet... a moral constitution for coexistence." The Charter introduces new and profound ideas like "civilizational partnership," "comprehensive citizenship," and "the uniting commonalties."

These ideas enrich the global understanding of human rights and offer a path away from extremism and hatred. The Charter’s focus on modern topics like empowering women, defining broad citizenship, protecting the environment, and strengthening the identity of Muslim youth is particularly important. It emphasises core principles like the common origin of all humanity, the rejection of racism and claims of being superior, and the acceptance of cultural and religious diversity as a divine plan.

The Charter serves as a direct religious argument against extremism. It clearly rejects takfir—the dangerous practice of declaring other Muslims to be non-believers, which has been used by violent groups to justify killing. Instead, it calls for brotherhood across all Islamic traditions. It rejects the violent ideology of a borderless caliphate, confirming the legitimacy of modern nation-states and encouraging Muslims to be loyal, law-abiding citizens of their countries.

Furthermore, it celebrates diversity as part of God’s divine plan, teaching that differences in religion and culture are signs of wisdom, not reasons for conflict. By grounding tolerance firmly in faith, the Charter gives Muslims a strong religious reason to live peacefully with others. In an age of social media, where unqualified influencers often misrepresent Islam, the document also restores authority to real scholarship, reminding the community to seek guidance from those with deep learning and moral integrity. The Charter provides a plan to counter Islamophobia by promoting the true image of Islamic culture and civilisation, moving from a defensive position to a proactive one.

It has been called a "historic constitution" designed to establish the values of coexistence among people of different religions, cultures, and sects. It is a hopeful document that stands against racial conflict and extremism. It calls for practical actions, such as making laws to punish people who promote hatred, fighting terrorism and injustice, empowering women, and creating an international youth forum.

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The document brilliantly connects timeless Islamic teachings to today’s global challenges. Its call to protect the environment is based on the Qur’anic idea of humans as stewards (Khalifah) of the Earth, making environmentalism a divine responsibility. Its support for human rights, dignity, and equality aligns perfectly with the higher goals of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shari‘ah), which aim to preserve religion, life, intellect, family, and property. In this way, the Charter is not simply copying Western ideals but is reclaiming and restating authentic Islamic ones for a modern audience.

Dr Uzma Khatoon, former faculty at Aligarh Muslim University, writes of Islam and Muslim issues.