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Riyadh: A number of Muslim scholars have called for the creation of a mechanism to advocate Islam and its tenets and respond to the allegations labelling Islam as the religion of violence and hatred.
The scholars were speaking at a symposium titled "The World and the Culture of Hatred" organised yesterday in Riyadh on the sidelines of the annual National Festival for Heritage and Culture. The event, organised by the Saudi National Guard is in progress here.
In his paper, the mufti of Mount Lebanon, Shaikh Mohammad Ali Al Jouzou said that hatred is not confined to a certain area of the world but can be observed in almost all parts of the globe. He attributed this phenomenon to ignorance, misunderstanding of others and racial attitudes. He pointed out that despite its scientific and technological advancement, the United States was established on piracy and bloodshed and that Western secular societies were unable to free themselves from religious intolerance.
Intolerance
He pointed out that the Zionists also adopt racial and intolerant ideologies believing they are the preferred people of God and that it is their right to wipe out Palestinians. He indicated that the Pope's remarks about Islam last year demonstrated ignorance of the reality of Islam, adding that this runs contrary to any objective study of Islam.
He pointed out that the war against Iraq, which is being launched in the pretext of fighting terror, has led to the killing of Iraqis and the creation of sectarian conflict that breeds hatred.
He accused the United States of working for breeding new crisis in Muslim countries.
Sudanese and Muslim scholar Dr Jafar Shaikh Idris, for his part, said that it is obvious that hatred will be among humans. "The problem is that people should know what to love and what to hate," he added. He noted that in the West they say who wants to live with us has to accept our values or leave our country.
"Their problem with people is not what to hate and what not to hate but they want people to like what they like and hate what they hate, even if what they like is an invasion of people's land and the killing of their brothers and the stealing of their wealth," he concluded.
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