MWL chief Al-Issa condemns attack on Salman Rushdie, calls it 'unacceptable'

RIMINI: The Muslim World League secretary-general, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, described the attack on author Salman Rushdie as "a crime that Islam does not accept."

Al-Issa, in an interview with Arab News on the side of his participation in a conference on inter-religious communication in the Italian city of Rimini, said "Islam is against violence and can never admit any method of violence. Religious and intellectual issues, including phrases that may read in full or partly as offensive, cannot never be dealt with in these violent ways."

Al-Issa was speaking following a lengthy and cordial conversation with Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, the head of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

"There are texts in the Islamic religion that are opposed to violence. And those texts are explicit," he said.

Al-Issa is regarded as a leading global voice on moderate Islam and a crucial player in the struggle against extremist ideology. He is also the president of the International Islamic Halal Organization and a former minister of justice in Saudi Arabia. He has received praise from both religious leaders and government representatives for his efforts to encourage moderation, collaboration, and cohabitation among all people.

He was well received at the 43rd "Meeting of Friendship Between People" in Rimini, which was put on by Comunione e Liberazione, a well-known Roman Catholic organisation.

Al-Issa said religion "is the sense of man's existence in this life, the sum of values based on particular principles, at the base of which there is not only a philosophy but also a religious source that comes from God. For this, we speak of values, both religious and human. These values represent the sense of religion and the religious instinct. This also means the sense of faith in the human being."

Passion and love, he says, are "central factors in religion," adding: "The believer must love all others even if he does not agree with them. The believer knows that love and mercy are needed in this life. Love is life, coexistence, peace, harmony."

He stressed the need for intra-faith dialogue, as it "eliminates all misunderstandings and clarifies the truths both within and outside the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. Dialogue is the language of the reasonable, of the wise. If everyone practices it, we all get close and this approach takes away the fears of other people, Arab News reported.

"Even if each may be different from the other, there is no reason to be afraid or worried about the other person: We all share life on this earth and we must talk to and understand each other. Differences between human beings go back to the creation of humanity. If God had wanted, he could have created only a single ethnic group or a single religion. But he didn't, and we have to believe in his wisdom," he said.

Al-Issa then spoke about respecting Muslims everywhere.

"We wish for everyone to live with dignity — all minorities — and that they are well integrated into the land where they live. We also hope that all governments around the world respect the rights of minorities and their cultural, religious and cultural specificities. We do not accept any minority in the world being offended, no matter if they are Muslim or not."

He concluded by urging all countries to care for refugees.

"Refugees are victims and must be taken care of by integrating them into the societies in which they live, and guaranteeing them human rights in the countries where they have taken refuge," he said.