Muslim leaders to hold summit on protecting non-Muslims

Meeting thought to be first of its kind in almost 1,400 years and is expected to attract more than 300 people

Muslims pray at Hassan II mosque in Morocco (Getty Images )

Muslim scholars will meet in Morocco to discuss how to protect non-Muslims living in their communities.

The summit is the first of its kind in almost 1,400 years and is expected to attract more than 300 Islamic leaders from Muslim majority nations, including Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.

The key aim of the conference is to release a new decelaration, rooted in Islamic Law, to reaffirm the rights of religious minorities, the Washington Post reported.

“The prophet was religiously persecuted, so he knew first-hand what it was to experience religious persecution,” Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the US, told the newspaper.

“His religion ensured the rights of religious minorities.

"We want to counter the idea that Muslims and non-Muslims can’t live together. This is not who we are or who we want to be.”

The summit is not exclusive to Muslims and non-Muslims will also be heading to Marrakesh. Representatives from the Vatican, as well as religious leaders from Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism have all been invited.

A key hope of the summit is to counter the work of Isis and protect minorities fleeing extremism in the Middle East.