Abdullah calls on Muslim and western leaders to focus on common aspects
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
PRIME MINISTER Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday called on the Muslim world and the West to shift their focus to aspects that unite the two worlds to narrow the divide between them.
He said that instead of just focusing on the differences, leaders from both worlds must also address issues that unite.
"It is quite clear to me that in attempting to reconcile the United States or the West and the Muslim world, one must address not only the issues that divide but also factors that unite. To address one while ignoring the other will not get us very far," he said in his keynote address at the US-Islamic World Regional Forum here yesterday.
He said that contrary to some beliefs, the West and the Muslim world shared many common aspects that should be nourished to narrow the gap between the two worlds.
"We need to focus on the many principles that we share, and the numerous interests that are common. We must avoid the tendency to think that we are the only custodians of what is good, while the other inhabits a dark and miserable world," he pointed out.
Citing the example of the close relationships between the US and other western nations and the Muslim-majority countries in the Southeast Asia, Abdullah said that despite the historical burden of being colonised by some western powers in the past, the Muslims in Southeast Asia wore their colonial past easily.
Abdullah said the US and Europe were among the most important trading partners and investors for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
"For the West and the Muslim world, we also have perhaps the most powerful tie that can bind — a common religious origin that links us to God through the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim). Let us find in this common source the wisdom that will help us heal the rift and close the divide," said the prime minister.
The two-day forum is attended by some 100 participants from local and international institutions.
Bernama
He said that instead of just focusing on the differences, leaders from both worlds must also address issues that unite.
"It is quite clear to me that in attempting to reconcile the United States or the West and the Muslim world, one must address not only the issues that divide but also factors that unite. To address one while ignoring the other will not get us very far," he said in his keynote address at the US-Islamic World Regional Forum here yesterday.
He said that contrary to some beliefs, the West and the Muslim world shared many common aspects that should be nourished to narrow the gap between the two worlds.
"We need to focus on the many principles that we share, and the numerous interests that are common. We must avoid the tendency to think that we are the only custodians of what is good, while the other inhabits a dark and miserable world," he pointed out.
Citing the example of the close relationships between the US and other western nations and the Muslim-majority countries in the Southeast Asia, Abdullah said that despite the historical burden of being colonised by some western powers in the past, the Muslims in Southeast Asia wore their colonial past easily.
Abdullah said the US and Europe were among the most important trading partners and investors for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
"For the West and the Muslim world, we also have perhaps the most powerful tie that can bind — a common religious origin that links us to God through the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim). Let us find in this common source the wisdom that will help us heal the rift and close the divide," said the prime minister.
The two-day forum is attended by some 100 participants from local and international institutions.
Bernama
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