Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on Muslims all over the world to speak out against the terrorist groups twisting the image of Islam.
According to Press TV, President Rouhani in a meeting with intellectuals and Muslim scholars in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Thursday said “All Muslims should break their silence against terrorist groups, which have caused the greatest harm to Islam.”
He further defined Islam as “the religion of moderation, logic and rationality,” inviting Muslims to unite in countering “violence, extremism, and terror.”
The Iranian chief executive said all Muslims are responsible for presenting the real Islam to the world, stressing that scholars from all Islamic countries, including Iran and Indonesia, should join forces and defend Islam against attacks.
Rouhani stressed “Protecting people’s lives and security all over the world is Muslims’ first priority.”
He asked “How can one tolerate and remain tight-lipped about the massacre of innocent people in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya or elsewhere in the world?”.
The Iranian president said “We Muslims value people’s lives as our religious duty, and thus, the killing of every innocent person, regardless of his religion or nationality, is condemned in our viewpoint.”
The Iranian president traveled to the Indonesian capital on Tuesday to attend the Asian-African Conference (AAC). The event will end on Friday, with heads of states then heading to Bandung in West Java Province to commemorate the original AAC gathering, which was held 60 years ago.
Rouhani has held meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo; Chinese President Xi Jinping; and Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang during his visit to Indonesia.
President Rouhani on Wednesday addressed a public session of the AAC and called for a global fight against terrorism.
