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| 2003/10/16 | |||
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Putrajaya, Oct 16 - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warned Thursday of rising hostility between Islam and the West, describing it as "ugly, dangerous and wrong". In a statement to the opening of a summit of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Annan said Western governments must address the grievances of Muslims, while Islamic states needed to make greater efforts to overcome their problems. He said he hoped to see Christians and Muslims reconciling in Sudan and perhaps Cyprus. "Yet there is, in too many places, a feeling of rising hostility between Islam and the West. This is ugly, dangerous and wrong," he said. "We must unite our efforts to address the extremism that is, alas, on the rise, not only in Islam but among many faiths," said Annan, who withdrew from the summit due to the Iraq issue being brought back to the UN Security Council. He said Western governments must match their rhetoric of respect for human freedom with action to promote development, including a fair world trading system. But he told the Muslim leaders -- who represent 1.3 billion people -- they also had to play their part. Muslims are dismayed by the apparent inability of Islamic states to do much about problems such as weak state systems, a lack of democracy and weak human rights, especially for women, he said. Extremist dogmas are gaining ground, impeding the progress of the Muslim community and threatening the security of people all over the world, he said. Only when Muslims enjoy fundamental rights will the Islamic world be able to assert its influence. "The Muslim peoples are capable of much greater things and they know it," Annan said. The UN leader said the Palestinian people were suffering under a "a harsh and prolonged occupation" and no one should be surprised at their feelings of humiliation, anger and despair". |
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