Iraqi urges Muslims to denounce terror (AP) Updated: 2005-11-15 23:15
Muslim clerics and scholars must do more to denounce terrorism and its
leaders or risk allowing Islamic radicalism to spread, the president of Iraq
said at a conference Tuesday.
"It is incumbent on Muslim theologians — and all Muslim thinkers — to make
sure these criminals have no peace and have no room," Jalal Talabani told a
gathering of religious and political leaders examining ways to improve contacts
between the West and Muslim nations.
Terrorism has dominated the agenda and showed the deep quandaries over how to
wage an intellectual battle against al-Qaida and other radical groups. Talabani
echoed the appeals of many moderate Muslims for sharper anti-terrorist
condemnations from religious authorities, such as Sunni clerics who have
influence in regions of Iraq considered rebel strongholds.
"Islamic leaders and philosophers must expose that they
(the terrorist groups) are only trying to deceive their followers and they do
nothing but destruction," he said.
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