"Islam does not justify killing, especially of Muslims by other Muslims," Mahathir noted.Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad has said ISIS extremists do not understand the teachings of Islam because they kill the followers of both Islam and other religions.
"Islam does not justify killing, especially of Muslims by other Muslims," Mahathir noted after delivering a public lecture, titled "Peace and Inter-religious Dialogue in Worldwide Education," at the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta on Monday.
He opined that the emergence of ISIS had something to do with the political interests of certain parties that actually have no connection with Islam.
"ISIS came into existence because of people with political interests," the former Malaysian prime minister remarked.
To fight against ISIS, Mahathir said, the issues that prompt this group to commit murder must be understood in advance. Muslims, according to him, have to understand the security aspect in determining the spread of the existing conflict.
"There is a conflict among us, but it must not be resolved through war and murder," he noted.
Mahathir also expressed regret that even now, many countries are still strongly motivated to fight. They are even willing to spend billions to meet the demand for sophisticated weaponry.
In fact, Mahathir said, war leads to more crises and humanitarian disasters. Not infrequently, a child loses his or her parents during war, and parents lose their children.
"War is a disaster that you create yourself, even though you ultimately win," stated the former Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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