Moderates Need To Come To The Fore

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Moderates of the world should reclaim centre stage from the minority of extremists, according to a scholar from a university in the Netherlands. Leiden University's Professor Dr Maurits S. Berger said that too much attention had been drawn to extremists, eclipsing the vast majority of moderates. "Their (moderates) voice needs to be heard and this also requires that they raise their voice. The need for moderation is a global one," he said during a session on 'Finding the Moderate Voice Within' held in conjunction with the inaugural International Conference on the Global Movement of Moderates here, Tuesday. He lauded the formation of the movement, saying that it was something that people should be involved in. Another speaker, International Islamic University Malaysia's Professor Dr Muhammad Kamal Hassan, said unbiased Western scholars could well study religious tolerance, power-sharing and balancing Islamic ideals in the context of a democratic system shown by Malaysia. Dr Muhammad Kamal pointed out that Malaysia was one of the successful models of Muslim moderation in modern world where democracy had thrived for decades. The three-day conference was opened by Prime Minister Najib Razak. -- BERNAMA