It really really does. Then again the Irani President talking about wiping Israel off the map just scares the shit out of me.


Islamic countries pledge to combat extremist ideology
(AP)

9 December 2005



MAKKAH — Leaders at the biggest ever Islamic summit on terrorism vowed yesterday to fight extremist ideology, saying they would reform textbooks, rein in the issuing of religious edicts and crack down on terror financing.


Kings, heads of states and ministers from more than 50 Muslim countries closed a two-day summit held in Islam’s holiest city that had been convened in a bid to address terrorism that has increasingly confronted their own governments and to counter criticism that the Islamic world has been doing little to confront extremism.

"The Islamic nation is in a crisis. This crisis does not reflect on the present alone, but also on its future and the future of humanity at large,” the summit’s final statement, dubbed as the Makkah Declaration, said.

"We need decisive action to fight deviant ideas because they are the justification of terrorism,” it said. "We are determined to fight terrorism in all its forms.”

In the declaration, the countries promised to "change national laws to criminalise financing and incitement” as well as correct school curriculums to purge extremist ideas.

"Islam is the religion of moderation. It rejects extremism and isolation. There is a need to confront deviant ideology where it appears, including in school curriculums. Islam is the religion of diversity and tolerance,” it said.

It also underlined that "fatwas” — or Islamic religious edicts — must only be issued by "those who are authorised,” an effort to rein in edicts by clerics who denounce other Muslims as "apostates” and allow their killing.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal described the pledges as "irreversible” but acknowledged that member countries had the duty of putting them to the test.

"It is now up to every Muslim government to implement the measures,God willing " he said at a Press conference.

The leaders of about 40 countries were participating in the meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, with the remaining OIC members represented by ministers. Among noted absentees were Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika — hospitalised in France — and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, speaking at the opening session of the summit on Wednesday, called for moderation in Islam.

"Islamic unity can’t be achieved by the spilling of blood, as deviant people claim by their dark ideas,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been waging a strong crackdown on Al Qaeda militants on its soil since a wave of attacks in early 2003, and Abdullah has taken gradual steps to clamp down on militant preachers in his country.

Jordan’s King Abdullah has also played a leading role at the summit, pressing for strong language against terrorism and extremist ideology after his country was hit by its worst ever terror attack last month, a triple suicide bombing at Amman hotels that killed 60 people. "The subject that should have priority over all these subjects is the consensus among us as Muslims on who is a Muslim and on the condition of Ifta, (edict making),” he told the summit on Wednesday.

"The absence of consensus on these two issues has led to divisions and differences, accusations of apostasy and internecine fighting,” the Jordanian monarch said.

The meetings were held at the Safa Palace, adjacent to the Grand Mosque. Saudi security forces and soldiers of the Royal Guard imposed tight security around the conference venue, closing most of the streets to the holy mosque.

sad as it is, it took some bombings in their own countries for these leaders to finally start talking about it.

This seems to lift some of the dark clouds looming in our world's future, moreso because they actually sound earnest about what they say.

What's the support for Al Qaeda running at in the Arab world these days? You'd think they'd realize that they kill more Arabs, and muslim Indonesians than they do 'infidels'...

Well...naturally. When killing infidels doesn't have its desired effect, then the goal becomes scaring everyone who supports the infidels into supporting the terrorists. That's why civilians in general become targeted in any war.