Reject extremists, OIC exec tells Muslims

DAVAO CITY—The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on Muslims, including those in the Philippines, to reject extremists who portray their struggle as jihad.

Iyad Madani said the misuse of the name of Allah by extremists was misleading and unacceptable and that he disagreed with their point of view, which included the killing of innocent women and children.

“The term (jihad) has been misused by extremists to convince young people to join them,” Malaysia’s state-run Bernama quoted Madani as saying before he left Kuala Lumpur for the Philippines on Friday.

Madani said being “a good person” and a true Muslim is the real jihad.

“This (use of the term jihad by extremists) is misleading and we have to face a world which sees Islam in a negative way,” he was further quoted as saying.

To minimize the influence of extremists, countries had to understand their movements and objectives, Madani said during his three-day visit to Kuala Lumpur before flying to Manila.

The OIC, which is made up of 57 countries, had been rallying against Islamic extremism.

In his meeting with then Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono in August last year, Madani also batted for the promotion of Islamic values to combat extremism.

“Islamic values such as justice, kindness, fairness, freedom of faith and coexistence through education were highly important to combat extremism and intolerance spearheaded by terror groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State militants,” he said then.

During his four-day visit to the Philippines, which started on Friday, Madani had met with Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles on the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front.

The details of the meeting was not fully disclosed but Deles’ office said in a statement that “Madani expressed the OIC’s full support and commitment to the Bangsamoro peace process.”

Madani was also expected to meet leaders of the MILF and its rival faction, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), during which, the threats from extremists in the Philippines might also be discussed, an MILF source said.

Before flying out today, he was also slated to meet President Aquino and Senate President Franklin Drilon. Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao