11 September 2007: The Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid today marked the anniversary of the September 11th atrocities in the United States by calling for increased understanding and cooperation between Islam and the West.
It is exactly six years since nearly 3,000 people were killed when four planes were hijacked and flown into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Speaking on the anniversary, Mr. Shahid urged the Islamic World and the West to search together for the root cause of terrorism and extremism, which the vast majority of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims continue to reject.
“We should focus on common ground between Islam and West,” he said. “Only then can we marginalize fundamentalist elements. We must educate the Islamic world and the West about the true meaning and teaching of Islam which is a religion of peace, tolerance and compassion, and one that rejects violence and terrorism”.
The Minister noted that a county like the Maldives, which has a long and proud history as a tolerant and peace-loving Muslim country, has an important contribution to make to the development of such an understanding.
Recalling the sentiments offered by H.E. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during a speech in July to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Foreign Minister emphasized that Muslims everywhere have a duty and a responsibility to show the world through their words and deeds that Islam is a great religion that calls for friendship and peace. In particular, all Muslim countries should strive, through democratic and human rights reforms, to establish open and just societies in which the rights or every individual are fully honoured and respected. For its part, the West should support such reforms not through intimidation or force, but through cooperation and dialogue.
“On the anniversary of 9/11” noted Mr. Shahid, “our thoughts are first and foremost with all those who lost loved ones and family members on that tragic day”.
“The Maldives utterly condemns all acts of terrorism wherever they are perpetrated. As we look back on the events of six years ago, our sadness and continued sense of outrage should be channeled towards ensuring that such atrocities are never again repeated. The only way to achieve this is for all communities, faiths, countries and peoples to work together in an atmosphere of friendship, understanding and cooperation”.
