4/9/2005 8:00:00 AM GMT
Source: reuters.co.uk
During an official visit to Australia, the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said Western countries must be prepared to discard their prejudices against Islam, their 'Islamaphobia' and be willing to engage in genuine dialogue with Muslim countries.
Badawi made the comments in Sydney at a gathering of the Asia Society of Australia.
Badawi, who is also the chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) the world's largest body of Islamic nations, said Friday the 'war on terror' could not be won by military might alone.
Abdullah said in a speech in Sydney that the West and the Muslim world must unite to tackle the "root causes of terrorism", such as poverty.
"The increasing gulf and misunderstanding between the West and the Muslim world must be bridged. But it requires both sides to work in tandem to close the chasm," said the OIC chief, the body which groups 57 Islamic nations.
"The non-Muslim world, especially the West, must be prepared to discard their prejudices against Islam. Muslims too must be prepared to begin a process of reform and renewal in their respective Muslim countries," he said.
But he added that reform in the Muslim world must be accompanied by changes to the foreign policies of Western countries and that the international community must take a stand to help stop injustice, oppression or aggression against Muslim countries.
"The non-Muslim world, especially the West, must be prepared to discard their prejudices against Islam. Muslims too must be prepared to begin a process of reform and renewal in their respective Muslim countries," he said.
Abdullah said the Muslim world abhorred terrorism in the name of Islam and should not be blamed for such atrocities.
"It is not justifiable to associate terrorism with any particular race or religion," he said. "Islam and Muslim countries should not be made accountable for them."
Abdullah said for the world to defeat extremism and terrorism it must first understand the causes of terrorism, singling out poverty as a major threat to global security.
"Today poverty is so serious a global problem that it is in fact a grave threat to global stability. Poverty could be the 'Trojan horse' for people who exploit the issue of poverty to camouflage their own secret agendas," he said.
Abdullah said Malaysia's moderate form of Islam, which he called "hadhari", made education a key policy aimed at elevating people from poverty and sharing in the nation's prosperity.
The Prime Minister said that Malaysia was not seeking approval from the West saying "It is not an approach to pacify the West. It is neither an approach to apologise for the perceived Islamic threat, nor an approach to seek approval from the non-Muslims for a more friendly and gentle image of Islam," he said.
"Malaysia offers a modest working model of renewal, reform and perhaps, renaissance in the Muslim world."