Musharraf:
Muslims Must Correct Western Misperceptions About Islam
(VOA) Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf says the Muslim world must correct
Western misperceptions
created by clerics about Islam as a religion that fosters militant
extremism.
He told a
meeting of the World Islamic Economic Forum in Islamabad the
rise in extremism in the Muslim world has been caused by semi-literate
clerics
who hold sway over the masses. He said this is the critical malaise that
spawns terrorism.
In a wide-ranging
speech, General Musharraf painted a bleak picture of the social
and economic prospects facing the world’s 57 Muslim nations,
pointing
out that their combined gross national products were less than that of
a single European nation, Germany.
He also urged
Muslim nations to fight corruption, set up good governance
and empower women in order to achieve economic development.