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Steady Hand Urged Against Islamic Terror
The West must stop associating Islam with terrorism, violence and poverty, top officials from three southeast Asian nations said.
| Why? Terrorism associates itself with Islam, so why shouldn't it go both ways? |
In separate speeches before the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, leaders from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines said Islam is not an impediment to modernity and democracy and should not be viewed as incompatible with economic growth and ethnic tolerance. Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the success of his country's first-ever direct presidential elections this month is proof of an Islamic nation's commitment to the democratic process. "As the country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia has proven that Islam can be a bastion of democracy and social justice," he said. Indonesia -- which has arrested more than 150 militants in the past two years -- is seen as an important front in the fight against terrorism. The Jemaah Islamiyah militant group has been blamed for several major attacks in Indonesia, including the October 2002 bombings on the island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
In the southern Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting for an independent Muslim territory for about three decades. Another separatist group, Abu Sayyaf, has a 13-year history of kidnappings and beheadings and envisions turning a string of southern islands into an Islamic enclave. "The Philippines believes that conflicts should be addressed before terrorism can begin to define or exploit the conflict. This can be done by working together with other nations," Philippines Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo said.
Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-09-29 |
