Malaysia, 2013

Allow me to begin by congratulating

the President of the General Assembly on his election.

I offer him Malaysia’s full cooperation and support as

he seeks to further the cause of peace and prosperity.

Three years ago, I stood before the General Assembly

and called for a global movement of moderates (see

A/65/PV.19). It was a call to reject extremism in all its

forms, because the real divide is not between East and

West or between the developed and developing worlds

or between Muslims, Christians and Jews. It is between

moderates and extremists of all religions.

Much has changed since 2010, when a current of

protest and reform surged through the Middle East and

North Africa. Out of the heat of the Arab Spring, new

questions arose about the pace of democratic change,

the role of Islam in politics, and the need for more

inclusive development.

But the search for answers to those questions

has been put on hold. As authoritarian regimes have

fallen, and Governments have been swept away by

political change, extremists have tried to fill that space.

Motivated by ideology, politics and religion, they have

sought refuge from the hard work of development in

the unholy practice of violence. Conflicts have spilled

across borders, inflaming old tensions and igniting new

ones. All over the world, extremism is claiming lives

and crushing opportunity. This affects all of us, but it

is one people of one faith who suffer the most. I believe

the greatest threat to Muslims today comes not from the

outside world, but from within.

The conflict between Sunni and Shia threatens

the lives and livelihoods of millions of Muslims. Our

religion, which was founded on peace and premised

on tolerance, is now being twisted by extremists who

are deploying false arguments to foster division and

justify violence. Across the Islamic world, extremists

are wrapping their perverse agenda in religious cloth,

tearing families, countries and the Ummah apart. With

each new atrocity, tensions are wound tighter and peace

seems further away.

The corrosive influence of extremism cannot be

countered easily, but we are not too powerless to act.

I believe that moderation in religion and the political

process can stem the loss of life and liberty in the Muslim

world. Behind the tragic violence, there is a battle

being waged for the future of Islam. By reaffirming our

commitment to moderation and solving the political

problems that drive instability, we can seize back the

centre ground. We can marginalize the extremists and

advance an agenda for peace, harmony and justice.

Around the world, Muslims have watched in despair

as conflict tears into some of our oldest communities.

Rarely in our history has the Ummah faced violence

on this scale. Right now, the world’s attention is rightly

focused on Syria. United Nations investigators have

concluded that the focus of the war has shifted along

ethnic and religious lines and become overtly sectarian.

A conflict that began with anti-Government protests

threatens to descend into a war of ethnic cleansing.

With fighters from Hizbullah engaging on Syrian

soil, the conflict now threatens Lebanon, too. Last

month, after car bombs killed dozens in Beirut, 42

people died in explosions outside Sunni mosques.

Communities are dividing along religious lines, with

hard-line preachers urging violence between Sunni and

Shia.

Meanwhile, the security situation in Iraq continues

to unravel, as Sunni extremist groups and Shia militia

struggle for control. Over the past four months, nearly

3,000 people have been killed. In the past week alone,

three funerals have been bombed in Baghdad. Women

and children have been blown apart while mourning.

Again, the violence is carried out between Sunni

and Shia. In one Iraqi town, four children from one

Shia family were slain with knives. In another, local

people — neighbours for generations — have built blast

walls to keep themselves apart. Forced displacements

are growing.

In Pakistan, bombings have wrecked the city of

Quetta, killing hundreds. Revenge attacks spread to

Lahore and bombs have been detonated in Karachi.

In August, militants ambushed buses, dividing the

passengers according to belief. Those who answered

incorrectly were executed.

Each of these conflicts has a distinct cause, but they

follow a darkly familiar path: emboldened by political

failures, radical preachers and militant groups turn civil

conflicts into wider religious wars. Yet the preaching of

such violence is completely counter to the Islamic faith.

The Holy Koran not only condemns suicide, unjust war

and retribution by force; it also makes clear the Prophet’s

desire for Muslims to live in peace with one another and

their neighbours. It says “And if they incline to peace,

then incline to it and rely upon Allah” (The Holy Koran,

VIII:61) and that “whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul

or for corruption in the land — it is as if he had slain

mankind entirely” (ibid., V:32). It also holds that “there

shall be no compulsion in religion” (ibid., II:256).

It should come as no surprise that there is no

scriptural basis for the atrocities being committed in

the name of Islam. Under the six higher objectives of

Islamic law, the first and foremost is the protection and

preservation of life. Yet even during Ramadan, our holy

month, when contemplation, devotion and compassion

reign uppermost in Muslim minds, the extremists would

not stop. More than 4,400 people died this Ramadan in

Syria, 371 in Iraq and 120 in Pakistan. This is a burden

we can no longer afford to bear. It is time to end the

killing; it is time to concentrate instead on building a

common agenda for peace and prosperity.

There are two things we can do. First of all, I

believe that peace-loving Muslims — the overwhelming

majority of Muslims — should unite against the

extremists who use our religion as an excuse to commit

violence. And one of the most powerful tools we have

to do so is al-wasatiyyah — the practice of moderation.

The Holy Koran says that “we have made you into a

community that is justly balanced” (ibid., II:143). This

concept of balance and moderation, of social justice

within our faith, is a central tenet of Islam. It asks of us

that we hold to the principles displayed by the Prophet

Muhammad in the Medina Charter.

Our task therefore is to reclaim our faith by

articulating clearly the true nature of Islam as a religion

of peace, moderation and tolerance. We should speak

that message clearly so that all may hear it and stand firm

against the minority who use Islam to further violent

and unjust ends. We should not mistake moderation for

weakness. To face those baying for violence and call

instead for calm is a sign not of frailty, but of strength.

Muslim leaders should speak up and condemn such

violence, lest their silence be mistaken for acceptance.

Moderation can be practiced at the national level,

as it is in Malaysia, by choosing mutual respect and

inclusivity and strengthening the bonds between

different communities and faiths. All countries

should reinforce their commitment to the principles

of moderation, not just in religion, but for sustainable

development and stable economic growth.

Moderation can also direct regional policy. It sits

at the heart of Malaysia’s efforts to bring peace to the

southern Philippines and to Thailand’s restive South.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which

endorsed the Global Movement of Moderates, has made

a commitment to the peaceful settlement and non-use

of force in territorial disputes.

At the international level, moderation can guide

our approach to the great global challenges of our

age: violent extremism, sustainable development and

equitable growth.

Secondly, we should give our all to resolve the

political problems that raise tensions in the Muslim

world, starting with Syria. We cannot underline strongly

enough the need for a Syrian-led inclusive political

process. Malaysia is against any unilateral action to

resolve the conflict. All sides must come together to

work out a political settlement. We welcome the recent

United States-Russia framework agreement, condemn

without reservation the use of chemical weapons, and

call on the international community to intensify its

efforts to explore all possible diplomatic options for

peace under the auspices of the United Nations.

We must also find the vision and political will to

commit to a just solution for Palestine. We fervently

hope that progress towards a viable Palestinian State,

based on pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem

as its capital, will be made, and that the United States

and other members of the Quartet will continue to play

their role as honest brokers in the process. Only with

peace can there be development and dignity for the

Palestinian people.

Finally, we should continue to focus on building

stronger and more prosperous societies predicated on

the rule of law and the practice of democracy. The Arab

Spring showed that the Muslim world is crying out for

change. Governments must answer that call. We must

provide good governance to fight corruption, create

jobs to tackle poverty, and deliver sustainable growth

that builds a world of opportunity for our citizens. We

must create economies in which people can fulfil their

own aspirations, not those of extremists.

By acting to solve our most difficult political

problems, we can bring an end to the immediate

suffering in Syria, in Palestine and in the wider world.

By committing to the cause of moderation, Muslims

can secure something even greater. We can reclaim our

religion, choosing harmony and acceptance over division

and conflict, and we can broadcast a vision of Islam as

it is understood by Muslims around the world — as a

religion of peace, tolerance and moderation.

Last month, when militants attacked those buses in

Pakistan, a 19 year-old Sunni student named Ghulam

Mustafa stood up for such a vision. Confronting the

Sunni gunmen, he said killing Shiites was wrong.

Ghulam was shot dead, but his life was not lost in vain.

With guns to their heads, the Sunnis on the bus refused to

identify the Shia passengers whom the gunmen wanted

to kill. In their defiance, we see the true measure of

courage and the true test of faith. Under unimaginable

pressure, facing the greatest possible threat, they chose

to stand with their brothers and sisters. They chose

unity over division. Faced with unimaginable pressure,

and the greatest possible threat, we must summon the

will to do the same.