Young Arab Muslims believe people of all faiths should be treated equally

Young Arab Muslims believe "that non-muslim citizens of Muslim countries should be treated as full citizens with equal rights." 

This, according to a recent report titled: Muslim Millennial Attitudes on Religion and Religious Leadership. 

Released last week, the report, conducted by the Abu Dhabi-based Tabah foundation in collaboration with Zogby Research, is based on interviews with 6,862 young Arab Muslim citizens in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, and Qatar.

It explores the attitudes of Arab Muslims across the region towards people of other faiths, as well as other themes including, extremism, identity and religious scholarship. 

One of its key findings states that "at least half of all millennial respondents everywhere but Libya believe that non-Muslim citizens of Muslim countries should be treated as full citizens with equal rights," with the view being strongest in "Qatar (89%), Lebanon (78%), Algeria (71%), and Sudan (68%)." 

It also found that almost all Muslim millennials in Lebanon (95%) as well as in Qatar (84%) have non-Muslim friends and acquaintances. 

But even though these numbers reflect slightly positive attitudes across several countries in the Arab world, they also have the report's authors concerned as they reveal a “dire lack of understanding among young Arabs” about how citizenship and rights work under Islam.

“The view that citizenship is subject to a hierarchy of prominence determined primarily by one’s faith is precisely the frame that extremist groups want normalized,” they said. 

There is of course room for improvement when it comes to fighting extremist views and the flawed rhetoric that surrounds coexistence and religious tolerance across the Arab world.  

But the situation isn't that grim, especially when we reflect on stories of people across the region who are adamant on fighting those who undermine coexistence by setting shining examples of it: 

In a country where sectarian division continues to haunt many who lived through a grueling 15 year long civil war (1975-1990), most people in Lebanon insist not only on never repeating the same mistakes again but on promoting harmony and coexistence.  

In a beautiful reflection of that, a recital held in Achrafieh's Basilique Notre Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse in March, saw a priest and a Sunni Muslim sheikh perform prayer together. 

In the wake of the April twin Palm Sunday terror attacks that hit churches in Egypt, thousands of Muslims donated blood to victims and rushed to their aid in an act of solidarity that powerfully defies extremism.  

Following the Palm Sunday attacks in Egypt, Muslim youths in Jordan launched an initiative to protect Christian Jordanians across the kingdom during Easter holiday. 

Speaking to Stepfeed, Kazem Kharabsheh, an organizer of the initiative, said that many in Jordan were adamant on spreading a message of unity, peace and coexistence following the attacks in Egypt.

"In Jordan we have always been united, and we will always respect all religious traditions and celebrate together," he said.