Misinterpretation of Islam causes violence: Mahathir

Misinterpretation of Islam causes violence: Mahathir

Sri Wahyuni and A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post,
Yogyakarta/Jakarta

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that the
misinterpretation of basic Islamic teachings has prompted some
Muslims to commit violent acts.

"They wrongly interpreted the teachings. I called on them to
go back to the basic teachings of Islam," Mahathir said in a
special interview with private television station TV7 in
Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

He said people had interpreted and misinterpreted Islam for
hundreds years, resulting in many different perspectives.

The Malaysian leader suggested that Muslims become
fundamentalists in order to find the true Islam that loves
humanity.

"I correct that I am against fundamentalism. I am a
fundamentalist," Mahathir claimed. "I follow the basic teachings
of Islam and they are all good."

Mahathir was responding to a question by The Jakarta Post's
editor at large Sabam Siagian, who joined the special interview.
Other interviewers were the Post's former chief editor Susanto
Pudjomartono and TV7 director August Parengkuan,

Muslim scholars had earlier said that misinterpretation of
jihad (holy war) had contributed to an increase in violence.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States two years
ago and the Bali bombings last October have led to a worldwide
war against terrorism, which some say has tarnished the image of
Islam.

Malaysia, which like Indonesia is home to a huge Muslim
population, upholds a moderate branch of Islam and has shown a
determination to fight terrorism.

Malaysia has arrested a number of Muslim hardliners under its
Internal Security Act while Indonesia has brought to justice
those involved in a series of bomb attacks in the country.

Earlier in his remarks after accepting an award from the ASEAN
Federation of Engineering Organizations (AFEO), Mahathir warned
of the dangers of economic terrorism.

"Economic terrorism could instill as much fear... and do as
much damage to life and property as bombs and guns," he told some
500 participants of the two-day meeting held at Yogyakarta
Sheraton Mustika Resort and Spa.

He said such a terrorism caused damage or deaths, directly and
indirectly, forcing nations into bankruptcy and submitting them
to foreign direction.

Businesses were bankrupted or forced to sell out, usually to
marauding foreign companies while banks and industries collapsed,
he said.

"Simply because these speculative and manipulating rogues and
their own media do not describe their acts as terrorism does not
mean that they are not acts of terrorism... acts that cause fear
and terror among their victims," he said.

In the interview with TV7, he further explained that economic
terrorism was linked to currency trading at the expense of the
poor.

Mahathir was apparently referring to the U.S. global financier
George Soros, who he blamed for contributing to the financial
crisis in Asia in 1997.