KUALA LUMPUR: There is a need to correct the perception of the so-called Islamic State (IS) among the younger generation as the movement is neither Islamic nor a state.
Kuwait Islamic scholar Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan said the move was important in order to prevent the younger generation from joining the terrorist group.
“Islamic scholars in the Arab world have declared IS as a terrorist group, and have called upon everyone in Muslim and non-Muslim communities to unite to fight against them,” he said.
IS leaders, he said, had misrepresented themselves as “caliphs” in a move to attract the young to fight for their cause which was clearly unislamic.
“So it has to be made very clear, especially to the younger generation that IS is not an Islamic caliphate and is not even Islamic itself. This is a terrorist group that everyone should join hands to destroy it.
“IS is indeed a danger to Islam itself because it is tainting Islam with blood,” he said in an interview with Bernama, here, yesterday.
Tareq said the only way to combat IS was by the use of military force against the hardcore militants while employing an approach of moderation in winning the hearts and minds of Muslims at large. — Bernama