Malaysia Calls for Creation of Moderate Movement to Fight Islamophobia

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has called for the creation of a "Global Movement of the Moderates" to counter Islamophobia and bridge the divide between the broader Muslim world and the West. He said the real issue is not between Muslims and non-Muslims but between the moderates and extremists in all religions, be it Islam, Christianity or Judaism, Malaysian news agency reported. "Despite our continuing efforts to promote world peace and harmony, we still witness the increasing trend to perpetuate and fuel Islamophobia. There have been attempts to pit Islam against the West, demonise Islam, as well as link Islam with terrorism," he said. These irresponsible acts further intensify the divide between the broader Muslim world and the West," he said at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, here, Wednesday. "We must ensure that the voices of moderation, which currently constitute the silent majority, prevail over that of extremism in finding solutions to the growing challenges that the international community faces," Anifah said. He said Malaysia would work diligently to ensure the complement of ongoing activities with the UN Alliance of Civilization and other inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogues so that moderation triumphs over extremism through the Global Movement of the Moderates introduced by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the UN General Assembly last year. He also said that Malaysia supports the application of Palestine to be a full member of the United Nations and welcomes the readiness of both parties to hold talks on the basis of the existing international legal framework. "Malaysia also fully supports the legitimate right of the Palestinian people for an independent State of Palestine, based on the two-state solution, taking into account the security concerns of both parties," he said. He also called for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council to make it more legitimate, representative, democratic and transparent, and no longer beholden to the veto of the five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. "Malaysia is transforming and reforming to be better able to adapt to a changing global landscape. We believe that the UN must also do the same. We would like to see a comprehensive reform of the UN so that it will be able to face current realities and address present challenges. "Most particularly, the Security Council should also be reformed in a comprehensive manner, in order to make it more legitimate, representative, democratic and transparent. For the council to mediate better, it must be effective, transparent and accountable to the larger membership of the UN. It must no longer be beholden to the veto holders," he added./129