Misperceptions of Islam are helping to promote dangerous divisions in the world, Malaysia’s prime minister said Friday, calling on the West and the Muslim world to foster respect for each other’s cultures. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, on a weeklong visit to Japan, said both parties should work to make religious extremists “irrelevant.” “The greatest injustice is the (tendency) to associate Islam with extremism,” he said in a speech at the United Nations University in Tokyo. “Al Qaeda ... has been very wrongly taken as speaking on behalf of Muslims.” Abdullah, whose country is considered a shining example of a moderate Muslim-majority democracy, said that fostering mutual respect for other cultures could prevent misperceptions from deepening divisions between the West and Islam. The Malaysian leader met earlier this week with Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, agreeing to explore using palm oil and other energy sources amid rising crude oil prices.