Prime Minister Najib Razak's counsel of peaceful protest against an
anti-Muslim film is welcome.
A full-throated defense of free
expression it wasn't. But Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's response last
week to "The Innocence of Muslims" film and Charlie Hebdo caricatures
nevertheless deserves praise.
"I urge Muslims to remain
peaceful and not resort to violence as a means of showing
dissatisfaction," Mr. Najib said in a September 20 blog post. "Now,
more than ever, each of us has a responsibility to work together for greater
respect, tolerance and understanding so we may live in harmony." While
calling the film and cartoons "unnecessarily inflammatory to
Muslims," Mr. Najib allowed that they may not have broken Western laws.
Mr. Najib's rejection of
extremism contrasts favorably with the poisonous rhetoric emanating from some
Muslim capitals this past month. In a late, unsurprising surge, Pakistan
vaulted to the back of the pack Saturday when its railways minister announced a
$100,000 bounty on the "Innocence" filmmaker.
Malaysia's leader ended his
statement with an invitation for people of all faiths to join his "Global
Movement of the Moderates," a pet project unveiled at last year's United
Nations General Assembly. British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have endorsed the concept.
Malaysia's push to advertise its
religious moderation is companion to its bid to better integrate itself into the
world economy. It is one of two Muslim states negotiating to join the U.S.-led
Trans-Pacific Partnership (the other is Brunei), which according to one study
will boost the country's GDP by 2.7%.
Actions speak louder than words,
but recent unrest in the Muslim world has shown that words can wreak havoc when
spoken by the powerful as incitement to violence. In the debate over Islam's
soul, Mr. Najib's counsel of responding to provocation with peaceful protest is
welcome.
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment