Muslims' ignorance of their own religion is among the reasons others have the wrong idea about their faith, Egypt's presidential adviser said Monday at a conference called to address how the world perceives Islam.
Muslims across the world have complained their faith has been unfairly branded violent in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which were carried out by 19 young Arabs linked to a militant group with extremists views of Islam.
Osama el-Baz, adviser to the president of predominantly Muslim Egypt, said some of those who justify violence against non-Muslims take Quranic verses out of their context.
"It is our responsibility because we did not exert enough effort to introduce others to true Islam," he told an audience of university students and professors attending the conference titled "Islam and the world today ... cooperation and not confrontation" convened at Cairo's al-Azhar University, the Sunni Islamic world's most prestigious seat of learning.
Security measures taken by the United States since Sept. 11 are seen in the Mideast as targeting people from Muslim countries. Comments and caricatures in the American media about Islam and Prophet Muhammad have increased the feeling that Islam is under attack. American officials deny there is a campaign against Islam.
The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States have caused "a major crisis" between Islam and the Western world, el-Baz said. As a result, el-Baz said, Muslims, particularly those living as minorities in the West, must work to learn the principles of Islam and relay them to the rest of the world.
"We should not be greatly harmed by some of the accusations against Islam," he said. "We should teach others about the belief and its laws, not in a defensive way."
Ahmed Omar Hashem, head of al-Azhar University, called on his students to stick to the true spirit of Islam.
"Stability in this world cannot be achieved unless the just and tolerant beliefs of this religion are spread to save humanity from scare tactics and fear," Hashem said.