Coming together to defend Islam

There was more to the official visit of Albanian President Bujar Nishani to Jordan for talks with His Majesty King Abdullah than the usual bilateral relations issues, including cooperation in tourism and economic relations.

The two leaders discussed, importantly, the manner in which the true image of Islam can be promoted in the world at a time it is repeatedly tarnished and abused by extremists from among Muslim ranks, including Daesh and other such Al Qaeda-spawned abominations.

The Albanian leader discussed this important and pressing issue with the King who, together with Her Majesty Queen Rania, has been making great contributions to efforts to rectify distortions of Islam and promote the true message of this religion.

Albania is a Muslim country in the heart of Europe; as such, it has the great responsibility to protect Islam and Muslims who, recently, have been under increasing attacks and threats from Islamophobes.

Of course, defending Islam from distortions and projecting a positive image of this great religion is first and foremost the duty of Muslim nations, which must work together to fight those who use religion to call for regression and backwardness.

It is important to have like-minded Muslim countries from across the globe to collaborate in this endeavour; most importantly, it is important to have European Muslims aware of the true message of Islam and have them behave in a manner that shows Islam as it should be, not as what preachers of hate make of it.

The Albanian president must have taken note of the fact that enlightened Muslim countries from the Middle East and North Africa speak the same language with the Muslims of his country, a language that truthfully portrays Islam and what it stood for in old times. 

The situation in the world at large, but particularly the abysmal state of affairs in most of the Arab world, makes it incumbent on Muslim countries everywhere to forge a common strategy to protect Islam from the dangers if faces from deviant Muslims themselves or from a scared and uninformed world at large.