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Mahathir calls for peaceful Islam
He just wonât go away, EFL:The outgoing prime minister of the mainly Muslim state of Malaysia has made a strong call for peace and tolerance in the Islamic world. Dr Mahathir Mohamad told BBC News Online violence had "achieved nothing", for example, for the Palestinians. Point for you, resume play. But he also accused the West of treating all Muslims as "terrorists". Just the ones who attack us. "A lot of people think the teachings of Islam make them confrontative (sic), but in fact, if you go to the fundamentals of Islam, we are urged to live in peace," he said. "After we have converted everyone to islam." He said that in this "true sense", he considers himself a "fundamentalist" Muslim. We never had any doubts that you were. Dr Mahathir, 78, is due to retire at the end of October after 22 years in office, making him South East Asiaâs longest-serving elected leader. He appealed to Muslims worldwide to go back to the "original, true teachings of Islam" and embrace values such as "peace, friendship, brotherhood, and tolerance of people". Malaysia, he said, did not have a problem with Islamic militants because it had acted to stop the "teaching of the politics of hatred" in religious schools. "Could you hand me my lips? Thanks, they keep dropping off." "We are very vigilant and know what is happening," he said, adding that the countryâs tough Internal Security Act had not been passed "just for fun". At the same time, he added, there was a "clash of civilisations" between Islamic and other states. How about that, he got another point right. "It is a lack of understanding of Islam that has led to this present situation," he said. Oh, we understand, thatâs why we are "clashing". But he admitted that there was a problem within Islam with "wrong" interpretations of Islamic teachings. "The result is that Islam appears to be an obstruction to progress," he said, adding that he believed there was a need for better unity within the Muslim world. "And more modern weapons, cuz weâre peaceful" Posted by: Steve 2003-10-10 |
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