Allow me to begin by congratulating
the President of the General Assembly on his election.
I offer him Malaysia’s full cooperation and support as
he seeks to further the cause of peace and prosperity.
Three years ago, I stood before the General Assembly
and called for a global movement of moderates (see
A/65/PV.19). It was a call to reject extremism in all its
forms, because the real divide is not between East and
West or between the developed and developing worlds
or between Muslims, Christians and Jews. It is between
moderates and extremists of all religions.
Much has changed since 2010, when a current of
protest and reform surged through the Middle East and
North Africa. Out of the heat of the Arab Spring, new
questions arose about the pace of democratic change,
the role of Islam in politics, and the need for more
inclusive development.
But the search for answers to those questions
has been put on hold. As authoritarian regimes have
fallen, and Governments have been swept away by
political change, extremists have tried to fill that space.
Motivated by ideology, politics and religion, they have
sought refuge from the hard work of development in
the unholy practice of violence. Conflicts have spilled
across borders, inflaming old tensions and igniting new
ones. All over the world, extremism is claiming lives
and crushing opportunity. This affects all of us, but it
is one people of one faith who suffer the most. I believe
the greatest threat to Muslims today comes not from the
outside world, but from within.
The conflict between Sunni and Shia threatens
the lives and livelihoods of millions of Muslims. Our
religion, which was founded on peace and premised
on tolerance, is now being twisted by extremists who
are deploying false arguments to foster division and
justify violence. Across the Islamic world, extremists
are wrapping their perverse agenda in religious cloth,
tearing families, countries and the Ummah apart. With
each new atrocity, tensions are wound tighter and peace
seems further away.
The corrosive influence of extremism cannot be
countered easily, but we are not too powerless to act.
I believe that moderation in religion and the political
process can stem the loss of life and liberty in the Muslim
world. Behind the tragic violence, there is a battle
being waged for the future of Islam. By reaffirming our
commitment to moderation and solving the political
problems that drive instability, we can seize back the
centre ground. We can marginalize the extremists and
advance an agenda for peace, harmony and justice.
Around the world, Muslims have watched in despair
as conflict tears into some of our oldest communities.
Rarely in our history has the Ummah faced violence
on this scale. Right now, the world’s attention is rightly
focused on Syria. United Nations investigators have
concluded that the focus of the war has shifted along
ethnic and religious lines and become overtly sectarian.
A conflict that began with anti-Government protests
threatens to descend into a war of ethnic cleansing.
With fighters from Hizbullah engaging on Syrian
soil, the conflict now threatens Lebanon, too. Last
month, after car bombs killed dozens in Beirut, 42
people died in explosions outside Sunni mosques.
Communities are dividing along religious lines, with
hard-line preachers urging violence between Sunni and
Shia.
Meanwhile, the security situation in Iraq continues
to unravel, as Sunni extremist groups and Shia militia
struggle for control. Over the past four months, nearly
3,000 people have been killed. In the past week alone,
three funerals have been bombed in Baghdad. Women
and children have been blown apart while mourning.
Again, the violence is carried out between Sunni
and Shia. In one Iraqi town, four children from one
Shia family were slain with knives. In another, local
people — neighbours for generations — have built blast
walls to keep themselves apart. Forced displacements
are growing.
In Pakistan, bombings have wrecked the city of
Quetta, killing hundreds. Revenge attacks spread to
Lahore and bombs have been detonated in Karachi.
In August, militants ambushed buses, dividing the
passengers according to belief. Those who answered
incorrectly were executed.
Each of these conflicts has a distinct cause, but they
follow a darkly familiar path: emboldened by political
failures, radical preachers and militant groups turn civil
conflicts into wider religious wars. Yet the preaching of
such violence is completely counter to the Islamic faith.
The Holy Koran not only condemns suicide, unjust war
and retribution by force; it also makes clear the Prophet’s
desire for Muslims to live in peace with one another and
their neighbours. It says “And if they incline to peace,
then incline to it and rely upon Allah” (The Holy Koran,
VIII:61) and that “whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul
or for corruption in the land — it is as if he had slain
mankind entirely” (ibid., V:32). It also holds that “there
shall be no compulsion in religion” (ibid., II:256).
It should come as no surprise that there is no
scriptural basis for the atrocities being committed in
the name of Islam. Under the six higher objectives of
Islamic law, the first and foremost is the protection and
preservation of life. Yet even during Ramadan, our holy
month, when contemplation, devotion and compassion
reign uppermost in Muslim minds, the extremists would
not stop. More than 4,400 people died this Ramadan in
Syria, 371 in Iraq and 120 in Pakistan. This is a burden
we can no longer afford to bear. It is time to end the
killing; it is time to concentrate instead on building a
common agenda for peace and prosperity.
There are two things we can do. First of all, I
believe that peace-loving Muslims — the overwhelming
majority of Muslims — should unite against the
extremists who use our religion as an excuse to commit
violence. And one of the most powerful tools we have
to do so is al-wasatiyyah — the practice of moderation.
The Holy Koran says that “we have made you into a
community that is justly balanced” (ibid., II:143). This
concept of balance and moderation, of social justice
within our faith, is a central tenet of Islam. It asks of us
that we hold to the principles displayed by the Prophet
Muhammad in the Medina Charter.
Our task therefore is to reclaim our faith by
articulating clearly the true nature of Islam as a religion
of peace, moderation and tolerance. We should speak
that message clearly so that all may hear it and stand firm
against the minority who use Islam to further violent
and unjust ends. We should not mistake moderation for
weakness. To face those baying for violence and call
instead for calm is a sign not of frailty, but of strength.
Muslim leaders should speak up and condemn such
violence, lest their silence be mistaken for acceptance.
Moderation can be practiced at the national level,
as it is in Malaysia, by choosing mutual respect and
inclusivity and strengthening the bonds between
different communities and faiths. All countries
should reinforce their commitment to the principles
of moderation, not just in religion, but for sustainable
development and stable economic growth.
Moderation can also direct regional policy. It sits
at the heart of Malaysia’s efforts to bring peace to the
southern Philippines and to Thailand’s restive South.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which
endorsed the Global Movement of Moderates, has made
a commitment to the peaceful settlement and non-use
of force in territorial disputes.
At the international level, moderation can guide
our approach to the great global challenges of our
age: violent extremism, sustainable development and
equitable growth.
Secondly, we should give our all to resolve the
political problems that raise tensions in the Muslim
world, starting with Syria. We cannot underline strongly
enough the need for a Syrian-led inclusive political
process. Malaysia is against any unilateral action to
resolve the conflict. All sides must come together to
work out a political settlement. We welcome the recent
United States-Russia framework agreement, condemn
without reservation the use of chemical weapons, and
call on the international community to intensify its
efforts to explore all possible diplomatic options for
peace under the auspices of the United Nations.
We must also find the vision and political will to
commit to a just solution for Palestine. We fervently
hope that progress towards a viable Palestinian State,
based on pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem
as its capital, will be made, and that the United States
and other members of the Quartet will continue to play
their role as honest brokers in the process. Only with
peace can there be development and dignity for the
Palestinian people.
Finally, we should continue to focus on building
stronger and more prosperous societies predicated on
the rule of law and the practice of democracy. The Arab
Spring showed that the Muslim world is crying out for
change. Governments must answer that call. We must
provide good governance to fight corruption, create
jobs to tackle poverty, and deliver sustainable growth
that builds a world of opportunity for our citizens. We
must create economies in which people can fulfil their
own aspirations, not those of extremists.
By acting to solve our most difficult political
problems, we can bring an end to the immediate
suffering in Syria, in Palestine and in the wider world.
By committing to the cause of moderation, Muslims
can secure something even greater. We can reclaim our
religion, choosing harmony and acceptance over division
and conflict, and we can broadcast a vision of Islam as
it is understood by Muslims around the world — as a
religion of peace, tolerance and moderation.
Last month, when militants attacked those buses in
Pakistan, a 19 year-old Sunni student named Ghulam
Mustafa stood up for such a vision. Confronting the
Sunni gunmen, he said killing Shiites was wrong.
Ghulam was shot dead, but his life was not lost in vain.
With guns to their heads, the Sunnis on the bus refused to
identify the Shia passengers whom the gunmen wanted
to kill. In their defiance, we see the true measure of
courage and the true test of faith. Under unimaginable
pressure, facing the greatest possible threat, they chose
to stand with their brothers and sisters. They chose
unity over division. Faced with unimaginable pressure,
and the greatest possible threat, we must summon the
will to do the same.