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Malaysia runs anti-terrorist TV ads
A coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in mainly Muslim Malaysia, headed by a son of former premier Tun Mahathir Mohamad, is running a series of television advertisements denouncing terrorism as un-Islamic.'Violence dishonours faith,' say the clips, produced by the coalition known as Peace Malaysia, which was set up in January 2003 ahead of the US' invasion of Iraq. A baby boy is featured in one of the segments aired on private channel TV3 during primetime news bulletins. It shows him growing up and graduating from university, turning to militancy and dying in conflict. Islam tells its believers not to kill children, women, the elderly and people in places of religious worship during combat, says another advertisement. 'Our objective is to promote global peace. It is a reminder to us here that we are living in peaceful conditions. Other countries are not so lucky,' said Peace Malaysia coordinator Mukhriz Mahathir. 'We want to promote diplomacy,' said Mr Mukhriz, whose father was a strong critic of the US invasion of Iraq, warning that it would spawn more Islamic militancy. Mr Chandra Muzaffar, political analyst and adviser to the group of more than 100 NGOs, said: 'It is in line with Peace Malaysia's goal of pursuing peace, we are committed to non-violence as it is against Islam. 'The emphasis is against violence as embodied in Islam. The killing of civilians in any battle or war is against what is integral to Islamic thought and philosophy.' But Mr Mukhriz said the advertisements were not triggered by fears of a rise in militancy. 'Our grouse is mainly with Western leaders. They still can't sit down and discuss things in a peaceful manner.' Terrorism is a 'topical subject right now. The occupation of Iraq is still big news. Now there's talk of Iran', he added. 'In Malaysia, we are lucky. Politically, we may have different perspectives but everyone shares a tolerant viewpoint. Malaysia has been described as a 'beacon of tolerance' and we want people to realise this.' Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-01-28 |
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