Islamic power should be balanced

Jakarta, NU Online
Muslims all over the world should posses the balanced power to keep strength equal to that of the others. Muslims must unite and resolve to put an end to all the sectarian conflicts that divide them.

In an interactive dialogue of the second International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) at Jakarta’s Borobudur Hotel, Tuesday (20/6), speakers such as Prof Dr Omar Hasyim (former Rector of Al-Azhar University Cairo), Ayatollah Ali Tazkiri (Iran), Dr Salim Alwan (Australia), the country’s Prof Dr Said Aqil Siradj, talked more about the issue.

Omar Hasyim argued that the Western countries have always called for peace and justice throughout the world, they have most of the time used double standard however. Many Muslims have always been oppressed and exploited, in Palestine, Irak, Afghanistan for instance.

“Muslims have not only oppressed as ever seen in Irak, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Thailand. That is why Muslims reserve the right to fight against the enemy,” Omar said.

According to Omar, Muslims’ resistance was not a terrorism act but struggle for justice. The West should not understand Islamic resistance as terrorism act. “They (the West) should understand it. To call for peace should be followed by justice,” Omar said.
 
”We know the Western countries have always disturbed the Islamic world. That is why we should unite and not divided to one another, resulting in hostility,” he added.
 
At the same time, Salim Alwan pointed out that Islam is not religion of terrorism and radicalism. Islam is religion of peace and justice. “All Islamophobia should be vanished. This is Muslims task, especially for the preachers in the Western countries,” Alwan said. 
 
While, Said Aqil Siradj suggested that since the last fourteenth century, long before the United Nations declaration of human rights 1945, Islam has respected to the human rights. It means that Islam constitutes the religion seeding peace and justice.
  
According to Siradj, there were four basic principles of the world, namely respecting to other people regardless of religion, nation, ethnic, and respecting to pluralism. He took an example how the presence of Islam in the beloved country of ours was not through bloodshed conflict, but disseminated through firmly manners.
  
”Pre-Islamic authorities have not been conquered by armed forces, but by giving such a model how to do good deed,” Said added. (rif)