"The teachings of Islam clearly focuses on creating and maintaining global peace and harmony among the people. "Any person claiming to be a Muslim and upholding Islam as his or her religion should be committed to ensuring peace while rejecting anything that brings about disunity and violence," he said.Stressing that jihad does not refer to a holy war as commonly perceived, Dr Ahmad Zahid said jihad actually means to struggle or strive. "Intentionally harming innocent people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, is highly condemned in Islam. "It is not part of jihad or anything close to that as it is sometimes made out to be. "We have also set up the King Salman Centre for International Peace in Putrajaya, aimed at deflecting the influences of extremism and terrorist activities, as well as to promote universal peace.

Source: The Star November 21, 2017 13:41 UTC