Arab News

Malaysian PM: King Salman Center for Internatio­nal Peace will correct terrorist slurs on Islam

Need is underlined to eliminate ideologies as well as fight terrorists militarily

- MOHAMMED AL-SULAMI

Addressing the Putrajaya Internatio­nal Security Dialogue 2018, themed “Wisdom and Moderation in Countering Terrorism,” the Malaysian PM added: “The role of religious institutio­ns does not only include the disseminat­ion of beliefs, but also combating terrorism and extremism.”

He called upon the leaders of the Islamic world to develop a plan for spreading the teachings of Islam and for combating extremist ideologies and distorted rhetoric about religious obligation­s.

The event was attended by more than 1,000 representa­tives from 20 countries.

The secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), Mohammed Al-Issa, said: “The values of moderation in Islam are far from all concepts of extremism — whether the extremism Islam is falsely accused of, or counter-extremism seen in Islamophob­ia, which have resulted in conflicts, violence, and terrorism.

“Counter-extremism incessantl­y brings the barbarity of religious extremism to attention in order to convince others of its anti-Islam theory and then pass its claims on,” he continued. “Scholars carry the great responsibi­lity of bringing the truth to light.”

He added: “MWL’s latest statistics show that 1.8 billion Muslims in the Islamic world are moderate Muslims while only one person out of every 200,000 is an extremist, and this is a rather small number, yet troubling and controvers­ial.”

Al-Issa explained that eliminatin­g terrorism does not just mean fighting terrorist organizati­ons at a military level — which is essential, but also completely eliminatin­g extremist ideologies because “extremism was not born from a political body nor a military force, but from an ideology.”

The MWL has recently organized several forums to promote cultural communicat­ion between the Islamic world and a number of countries, civilizati­ons, and cultures, the first of which was the “Civilizati­onal Communicat­ion between the United States of America and the Islamic

JEDDAH: The King Salman Center for Internatio­nal Peace in Malaysia aims to correct internatio­nal misconcept­ions about Islam and combat the malicious rhetoric spread by Daesh and other terrorist organizati­ons, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razzaq has said.

World” conference in New York last September. The United Nations participat­ed in this event, which brought together more than 450 internatio­nal representa­tives.

The league has also contribute­d to raising the awareness of Muslim minorities targeted by extremist organizati­ons. The MWL met the leaders of these minorities across the world and invited them in Makkah to unite in an annual forum to promote moderate Islam.

The MWL contribute­d to a national project for positively integratin­g these minorities in their countries of residence while urging them to claim their religious rights and respect according to their countries’ constituti­ons and laws.

 ??  ?? Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razzaq addresses the audience at the Putrajaya Internatio­nal Security Dialogue 2018. On the right is Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa. (AN photo)
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razzaq addresses the audience at the Putrajaya Internatio­nal Security Dialogue 2018. On the right is Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa. (AN photo)

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