CANADIAN PM CONDEMNS FOR REMARKS ON ISLAM

OTTAWA, Canada - In an interview with CBC News last week, Harper said the biggest security threat to Canada a decade after 9/11 was "Islamicism" (sic). The word does not exist. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the statement by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that considered "Islamic terrorism" as the biggest threat to Canada.

• In his comments, the OIC chief said such misleading statements from the prime minister of a sovereign country would create chaos. "The usage of Islamic terrorism is wrong like the usage of Christian terrorism or Jewish terrorism.
  
• Islam is a religion of peace and mercy," the secretary-general said as he reiterated the organisation's commitment to combat terrorism and extremism in all its forms. "Our stand is based on Islamic teachings that reject terrorism and violence," he said, according to the Jeddah-based daily.
• "Harper's statement will only exacerbate the misunderstanding and suspicion between the West and the Islamic world and obstruct global efforts to confront bigotry and hatred between religions and cultures," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary-General, said, as quoted by Saudi daily Arab News on Wednesday.
• "The major threat is still Islamicism … When people think of Islamic terrorism, they think of Afghanistan, or maybe they think of some place in the Middle East, but the truth is that threat exists all over the world," Harper said.
• Ihsanoglu said OIC countries were the main victims of terrorism, suffering heavy human and material losses.
• Saudi Arabia, home to the OIC offices, witnessed a series of bombings and attacks since May 2003 that claimed the lives of 350 people.
• Hassan Al Ahdal, director-general for media and public relations at the Makkah-based Muslim World League, said he was dismayed by Harper's remarks.
• "Such irresponsible remarks should not have come from a prime minister," he said. "It will give fuel to extremists to carry out terrorist attacks and deepen the division between Islamic and Western cultures. It will also encourage Islamophobes to carry out more attacks against Muslim minorities."

Al Ahdal hoped that the Western thinkers would condemn Harper's remarks "in order to strengthen good relations between Muslims and the West."
He said Harper's remarks would make Muslim countries and parents consider not sending their students to Canada, fearing they would face bad treatment.

Source: Agency