Malaysia, 2014

I would like to begin

by congratulating the President on his election. His

wisdom and experience will stand him in good stead as

he guides the General Assembly.

I would like to pay tribute to the health workers

who are fighting Ebola in West Africa. Malaysia was

able to contribute more than 20 million rubber gloves

to help the doctors and nurses who are working to stop

the outbreak. Our prayers are with them.

I also wish to thank all those who came to

Malaysia’s aid in this difficult year. Flights MH-370

and MH-17 were tragedies that will stay with us forever.

As we mourn the loss of life, we take heart from the

compassion shown by our friends. Their support will

not be forgotten. We thank our friends and allies who

are giving their time and their resources to help find

Flight MH-370. Men and women continue to risk their

lives searching the deepest oceans. We owe them our

gratitude and our commitment. We will not give up the

search. We are also grateful to our international partners

that are working together to investigate the loss of Flight

MH-17. Malaysia will continue to seek justice for those

who died. We urge all parties to continue to cooperate

with the investigation. We also hope that those two

tragedies will change the global aviation system for the

better and that nations will unite behind new standards

for aircraft tracking and overflying conflict zones.

Four years ago, I stood before the General Assembly

and called for a global movement of moderates to

counter extremism (see A/65/PV.19). Last year, I

spoke of the conflict between Sunni and Shia that is

tearing the Muslim world apart (see A/68/PV.18). Now

those two forces — violent extremism and religious

intolerance — have joined hands beneath a black flag.

Two countries fractured by war face a new threat — a

self-declared Islamic State. Its victims are Sunni and

Shia, Yazidi and Kurd — anyone who will not bow

before the sword.

That so-called State, torn from existing nations with

violence, rules by violence. Its authority is maintained

by forced conversions and public executions. Its

militants have destroyed lives and communities. They

have destabilized fragile nations and threatened regional

security. Yet their dark ambition stretches further still.

They challenge the very notion of the State. They call

to our youth with the siren song of illegitimate jihad.

They demand that all Muslims swear allegiance to their

so-called caliph. That demand will never be met. We

reject the so-called Islamic State. We reject such a State

defined by extremism. We condemn the violence being

committed in the name of Islam.

Around the world, Muslims have watched in despair

as our religion — a religion of peace — has been used

to justify atrocities. We have turned away in horror at

the crucifixions and the beheadings. We have mourned

the sons who have been stolen and the daughters who

have been sold. We know that the threat to world peace

and security is not Islam but extremism — intolerant,

violent and militant extremism. The actions of those

militants are beyond conscience and belief. They

violate the teachings of Islam, the example set by the

Prophet Muhammad and the principles of Islamic law.

As we speak, some Syrians and Iraqis are being

forced to abandon their faith. Yet the Koran states:

“There shall be no compulsion in religion” (The

Holy Koran II:256). They are being forced from their

homes and forced to convert to Islam. Yet the Koran

says: “To you be your religion, and to me my religion”

(ibid., CIX:6). If they do not comply, they face death.

Yet the protection of life is a fundamental precept of

Islamic law, and the killing of civilians, even in war, is

prohibited in Islam.

The question is: How should we respond? In the

past, when the world mobilized to fight extremists, we

launched wars without planning for peace. We attacked

one evil only to see a greater evil emerge. This time

must be different. This time, we must defeat not only

the extremists but also their ideas. We must confront

the heresy of a State conceived by ungodly men and

enforced through violence. In its place, we must advance

the true Islam — the Islam founded on the principles of

peace, tolerance and respect, as set out in the Koran, the

Sunna and the Hadith. There are key things we must do.

First, security and statehood must be returned to

the people of Syria and Iraq. Malaysia co-sponsored

Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign

terrorist fighters to strengthen our commitment to

galvanizing international action to combat terrorism.

We call on the international community to stop the flow

of money and recruits to extremist groups. We continue

to offer humanitarian assistance under the ambit of the

United Nations or internationally recognized bodies

to those who are displaced by the fighting. Attacks

on militant targets should, at all cost, avoid collateral

damage.

Secondly, we must pursue a different kind of

politics. The emergence of such militants is a symptom

of political failure, of poor governance in fragile States

and the conflict that still rages between Sunni and

Shia. We must break the cycle where one group gains

power only to wield it against the other, and where

marginalization leads to radicalization, as people

lose confidence in the State’s ability to provide both

security and coexistence. Individuals and ethnic and

religious groups need to feel that they have a stake in

a nation’s success, not its failure. We should therefore

commit to more inclusive politics. That is a difficult

task. It demands pragmatism and compromise and must

come from within.

Malaysia stands ready to share its experience

in marginalizing extremism, in maintaining a

multireligious country, where different faiths coexist

and prosper, and in showing that Islam can not only

succeed but also drive progress and development in a

pluralistic society. Like all nations, we have had our

growing pains. Stability is never permanent. It must be

actively maintained. But in Malaysia, there are streets

in which mosques, temples and churches stand side by

side. Ours is a society in which religions may differ,

but they do so in peace, in the knowledge that we are all

citizens of one nation.

We believe that such a moderate approach can

make a valuable contribution to fragile States and

international affairs alike. It is a philosophy that we

have applied when acting as an honest broker in peace

processes in the southern Philippines and elsewhere.

It is a principle that we will pursue as we chair the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next

year, when it forms the 600-million strong ASEAN

Community, with greater political security and

economic and sociocultural integration.

In the coming weeks, Malaysia will work with all

interested partners to move the moderation agenda

forward at the United Nations. That work informs our

bid for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for

the coming term. The moderation agenda involves us

all. The fight against extremism is not about Christians

versus Muslims or Muslims versus Jews but moderates

versus extremists of all religions. We need to rally a

coalition of moderates — those willing to reclaim their

religion and pursue the path to peace.

I therefore reiterate my call on the leading figures

in all the great religious traditions. Let us join together

to ensure that religion is the source of healing and

blessing rather than conflict and destruction. In that

respect, I welcome Pope Francis’s visit to Palestine and

his efforts to bring moderate Palestinians and Israelis

together to pray for peace. By demonstrating moderation

in the political process, we can ensure that no one is left

outside society. By practising moderation in religion,

we can marginalize the extremists. By committing to

moderation here at the United Nations, we can show

that the world is willing to fight extremism not just

with short-term military operations but with long-term

plans.

The security response of the international

community and a commitment to more inclusive politics

on the part of affected countries will remove two of the

conditions that allow extremism to take hold. However,

in order to defeat the extremists, we must undermine

their authority and erode their appeal. We must

confront their propaganda. We must defeat the message

that seduces young people into acts of violence. And

we must address any legitimate grievances that drive

people to extremism, be they political or economic. In

short, we must win the hearts and minds of those who

would serve the so-called caliph.

That is the work of a generation. To begin, we

should focus on the real-world conditions that allow

disillusion to grow. That means building sustainable

economies that bring opportunities for our young

people and addressing legitimate concerns that drive

radicalization.

Malaysia, like so many countries around the

world, was appalled by the brutal violence against

Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We strongly condemn

Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks

on Gaza and its continuing violations of international

and human rights law. The use of heavy weapons in

civilian areas and the obliteration of houses, mosques

and schools were an affront to common decency. We

condemn such acts not just for the innocent lives taken

but for the message that they send, namely, that religions

cannot coexist and that the international community

cannot enforce international law and protect the rights

of Palestinians. Their plight is one of the most effective

rallying calls for those who claim that the international

system is broken.

Let us therefore unite to find a peaceful, just and

lasting outcome that brings dignity and security to the

people of Palestine. That should be predicated on a

two-State solution based on the 1967 borders, with East

Jerusalem as its capital. That will bring dignity and

security for the people of Palestine, who have suffered

so much, and will allow us to redouble our efforts to

bring peace to other parts of the world where conflict

fuels extremism.

We must also understand why those militants

succeed in drawing people to their cause. The

extremists call upon Muslims to pledge their allegiance

to their self-proclaimed caliphates in Syria and Iraq,

in Nigeria and Somalia and in Kenya and Libya. They

reach out to a people in search of a State. The fact that

some answer that call is testament to our failure. We

have failed to uphold a vision of moderate and inclusive

Islamic development and to tackle isolation in our own

communities.The fight against extremists must be won

not just in Syria and Iraq but also in Britain, Belgium,

the United States and Malaysia. We have managed

to prevent extremism from gaining a foothold in our

country. Yet even a few Malaysians have been lured

by foreign terrorist fighters, who led them to Iraq and

Syria.

Countries must educate, include and, where

necessary, confront those at risk of radicalization. Our

religious leaders must continue to show that faith and

society are best aligned under a just rule of law. We

must continue to make the case that the moderate path

is the righteous path — the path that Allah set out for

us when he said, “we have made you into a community

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

We must confront the myth that committing

atrocities in the name of an Islamic State is an act of

faith and that death in the service of that aim brings

martyrdom. The extremists use that distorted narrative

as a recruitment tool. To counter that deception,

Muslims should work together to promote a greater

understanding of what a true Islamic State means. An

international conference of scholars of Islamic law,

convened by my Government to define the true meaning

of an Islamic State, agreed that for a State to be called

Islamic, it must deliver economic, political and social

justice. It must protect and further the six objectives of

Islamic law: the right to life, religion, family, property,

dignity and intellect — the same universal rights that

are enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of

Human Rights.

The so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and

the methods used to declare it have violated every

single one of those objectives. It is therefore neither

Islamic nor a State. Individuals, religious leaders and

nations have said that and must continue to do so and

to advocate for Islamic principles within a framework

of tolerance, understanding and peace.That, after all, is

the true nature of Islam; a religion of peace that values

coexistence, mutual comprehension and learning,

even in times of struggle. When 70 prisoners of war

were captured during the Battle of Badr, for example,

the Prophet Muhammad was urged to slay them.

The Prophet not only protected the lives of innocent

civilians, he also spared enemy combatants.

It is that spirit of understanding and compassion

that we should continue to embrace and espouse. Now

is the time to advance a vision of peace and moderation.

Let us call for a global community of understanding.

Let us prove that we can honour the words of the

Prophet and build balanced and just societies, where

different faiths live and prosper in peace. Let us show

that Muslims, united in faith, can be a powerful force

for progress, knowledge and justice, as we were in the

greatest periods of our history, as we can be today, and

as we will be tomorrow.