"Islam is an extremely broad faith with diverse institutions. It cannot possibly be understood in stereotypes. For Muslims, the law of God represents absolute good. It is exercised in the service of God, and for the well-being of the community. For Muslims, as it was for the Greeks, the politics of a society are closely related to ethics."

 

"In Islamic civilization, religion has served as a fountainhead, providing the rationale for that civilization's existence and accomplishments. The success of Islam as a world religion testifies to its capacity to accommodate diversity. In the course of the history of Islamic civilisation, a Muslim theory of international relations evolved. In its original form, it was governed by the simple concept of religious endeavour to defend Islam and Muslim communities, known as jihad; perhaps the most widely misused Arabic term in the Western lexicon. Its original meaning is 'striving in the way of God'. Its acquired nuance of terror and kidnapping has no foundation in the Qur'an."

 

"Muslim decline was accompanied by the emergence of European power. The challenge of modernity came in the wake of European encroachment and domination of Muslim land which marked the height of the age of Western imperialism. At the outset, Muslim reaction centred on the importation of European weaponry, military organisation, and industrial plant technology. A direct consequence of these measures was a move for the introduction of civil society and the Westernisation of all state institutions."

 

"The very word 'Islam' conjures up the notion of 'terror' among some Western circles. Of course, some Muslims are engaged in terror, as are some Christians, Jews, Hindus and secularists and so on. But it is a grossly insulting act of reductionism to characterize the religious and spiritual aspirations of a billion human beings in this way. There is evidently a desperate need for a code of conduct which highlights the need for dialogue between the faith communities. Conflicts and misunderstandings cannot be resolved except by dialogue."