T

he Muslim World League (MWL) issued here on Thursday a “code of honor” for media institutions and journalists in the Muslim world, calling on them to spread Islamic messages while countering biased reports against Islam.

The code of honor was presented during the closing ceremony of the Second International Conference on Islamic Media in Jakarta, which was themed “New Media and Communication Technology in the Muslim World: Opportunity and Challenge”.

“The conference recommends the issuance of the Code of Honor for communication and information media according to the attached draft and to circulate it among ministries of information and media institutions in the Muslim world,” conference participant Mohammed Musa said before reading out recommendations produced by the three-day conference.

“[The conference also] stresses the need to adhere to [the code of honor] when issuing national media codes, as well as codes for media institutions,” said the professor in communications from New Zealand’s University of Canterbury.

The code of honor is divided into four sections: (1) general principles and objectives, (2) rights, (3) responsibilities and (4) duties of Muslim media persons.

In the general principles and objectives section, the code calls on Muslim media figures “to affirm belief in the moral principles and values of Islam”, “to safeguard the Islamic identity from the negative effects of globalization and Westernization” and “to ensure freedom that is responsible and disciplined according to sharia guidelines”, among others.

In the rights section, the code guarantees the right of expression (but still within the limits of sharia law), the right to access to information and the right for good working environment to support journalists’ work performance.

The third section calls on media figures in the Muslim world to, among other things, “take care of Islam’s heritage, history and civilization, and also the Arabic language as the language of the Koran and prayers” and “confront atheism and all other anti-Islam tendencies that spread hatred against Islam and Muslims”.

The fourth section calls for “support for Muslim peoples in their efforts to resist oppression and occupation” and to adhere to general principles in journalists’ universal code of ethics, such as “refraining from publishing and broadcasting all forms of incitement to violence”, “keep away from fabrication of events” and “verify the news and be honest in reporting; although most points are still followed by “within sharia guidelines” or according to “Islamic morals”.

Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who also delivered a speech at the closing ceremony, said the Indonesian government would follow up on the recommendations for the conference piled up in “The Jakarta Declaration on Media in the Muslim World”, although he stopped short of detailing the probable follow-up moves.