‘IT’S A MISTAKE TO ASSOCIATE ISLAM WITH TERRORISM’
Islam means peace, and peace and terrorism do not go together, says ruler
IT would be a grievous mistake to identify terrorism with Islam just because most of the terrorist organisations involved Muslims, said Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
He said although this had been the situation since the beginning of the century following the turmoil in West Asia — and no thanks to groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) — this had not always been the case.
“Before this, the landscape of terrorism was dominated by movements involving, for example, the Irish, the Tamils and communists.
“None of them, however, identified themselves as closely with a religion as many of the terrorist groups involving Muslims do. IS even claims it wants to establish a Muslim caliphate.”
However, he said, it would be a grave mistake to associate Islam with terrorism just because of such groups.
Pointing out that there could not be “Islamist terrorism”, he said it was a direct contradiction of terms, as Islam meant peace.
“Peace and terrorism do not go together. Terrorist groups identify themselves with Islam only because they seek to corrupt the teachings of Islam to serve their evil cause,” he said, noting that Islam was a guide not only for the afterlife, but for conduct in this life as well.
He said as the religion emerged out of the crucible of conflict and tribal warfare, it had prescribed rules of engagement.
“These rules are strikingly similar to modern international law and humanitarian law. Islam allows for the taking up of arms in defence of self, family and progeny, property and territory. This is why many Muslims in zones of conflict like Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, and elsewhere, who are moved by the death and destruction they witness, enlist to fight in the name of Islam.”
Sultan Nazrin said terrorists who targeted civilians seized upon the permissibility to take up arms to commit terrorist acts in conflict-affected areas, as well as in other countries, especially those they thought were implicated in attacks on Muslims.
However, he said, these groups committed their despicable acts in violation of the strict rules of conduct and prohibitions in Islam.
“The religion forbids the killing of children, women, the elderly, the sick and those in places of worship.
“It prohibits the destruction of inhabited places, villages, towns and cultivated fields. And, it asks that captives be freed, the hungry be fed and the sick be visited,” he said in his keynote address titled “Challenges of partnering for security and prosperity in uncertain times” at the AseanAustralia Dialogue 2018 in Sydney.
Sultan Nazrin said combatting terrorism and violent extremism was high on the agenda of the Asia-Pacific regional security architecture and Australia and Asean were staunch partners in this effort as they confronted the same menace.