Author:
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 7, 2002
Kuala Lumpur May 6. Muslim nations
took different stances on Monday on suicide bombings in Israel, with Malaysia
urging an end to them and Saudi Arabia calling Palestinian suicide bombers
martyrs.
The differences at the meeting of
Religious Affairs Ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
showed lingering divisions among Muslim countries since a meeting in March,
when Foreign Ministers were unable to define what constitutes terrorism.
The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister,
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said holy war cannot be won with violence and suicide
bombers, which achieved nothing by killing Israeli civilians except to
bolster views that Palestinians are terrorists. He added building strong
economies were more important in the fight against injustice.
But Saudi Arabia's Minister for
Islam, Sheik Salleh Abdul Aziz Mohammed al-Sheik, differed at a news conference.
``The suicide bombings are permitted,'' he said.
``The victims are considered to
have died a martyr's death.'' In a speech opening the three-day conference,
Mr. Abdullah said Muslims should not ``allow Islam to be hijacked by those
who have a flawed understanding of our faith and rally under the banner
of militancy.''
He also urged Muslim countries to
drop the widely held belief that the religion's tenet of jihad, or holy
war, meant carrying out militant attacks.
Jihad must ``not be pursued with
guns and bombs'' but should be translated into actions that would help
to lift Muslims ``from the throes of poverty,'' he said. - AP
