Reclaim the moderate's way of Islam

Muslims around the world must reclaim the moderate way of Islam to fight 'extremists' ideologists like the IS Militants, said the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.

He said the right message of Islam must be explained in order to counter the extremist's narratives of Islam.

"The self-styled 'IS Militants' or members of 'Daesh' massacred innocent civilians in the name of jihad last week in Paris and Mali.

"They have indeed gone astray and are now regrettably very far from the middle way that the weight of Muslim history as well as our scriptures attest to," he said at the book launch of Professor Mohammad Hashim Kamali's 'The Middle Path of Moderates in Islam' here, today.

The book examines the concept of Wasatiyyah or moderation, tracing the definition and scope from the foundation sources of Islam, the Quran and Hadith.

In the recent terror attacks at several places in Paris, among them restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium, at least 129 people were killed and 352 injured.

Sultan Nazrin said the Quran claims that the notion of the 'middle way' and 'moderation' as primarily a moral virtues, relevant not only to personal conduct of individual citizens but also in communities of nations in this world.

"Despite its divine blessings and obvious benefits to mankind, the middle way is often neglected and is elusive and difficult to achieve, whether in our own religious devotions, personal conducts or even in our public and societal relations.

"To me, this is where the major challenge lies - in the actual behaviour of ourselves, of our leaders, and of our communities and our nations," he said.