Back to the roots of Islam to open channels of dialogue, Muslim leaders say
Islamabad (AsiaNews) Muslim leaders met last week in Islamabad to discuss ways to counter rogue interpretations of Islam and promote inter-faith harmony and fight terrorism.
The meeting brought together Pakistan's current Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad, Prince Hasan bin Talal of Jordan and South African Ahmed Kathadra to confront Islam's internal divisions and manifold interpretations. For them, dialogue and exchange of ideas are the ways to stop terrorism and promote economic development.
Prime Minister Aziz pointed out that one issue that needs to be confronted is the growing chasm among Muslims of different Islamic denominations. In Pakistan for example, the year 2004 was the worst on record for Sunni-Shiite relations.
Mr Aziz also underlined the need to breathe new life in the Organisation of Islamic Countries to address the challenges facing the Ummah (the worldwide Islamic community). As an example of what to do, Mr Aziz pointed to multi-cultural Malaysia, a country whose inter-faith harmony should be emulated by other Muslim societies.
Prince Hasan of Jordan agreed with his host that sectarian differences in the Islamic world were tarnishing the image of Muslims, adding that Sunni and Shia divisions were not serving the cause of the Ummah. Instead, he said, "the nation is for everyone and religion is for Allah".
Underlying the need to develop a strategy for communication among Muslims and with non Muslims and remove misunderstandings, the Prince said dialogue and a culture of solidarity are necessary to counter extremism and violence.
"Carrying a Kalashnikov," he stressed, "and challenging the world does not [. . .] serve any cause". The alternative, he believes, lies in being "open to negotiations" without "compromising on principles".
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir emphasised the importance of democratic institutions in promoting real economic development. In his view, it is necessary to "understand that things cannot be changed through violence, assassinations and killing but through the ballot box." Such an understanding would lead to political stability and policy-making geared towards economic prosperity.
As to jihad, Mr Mahatir explained that it is meant as a struggle against oppressors and cannot be equated with terrorism. "Jihad", he insisted, "does not involve terrorism".
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18/11/2022 13:29
26/11/2018 09:01
