Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today urged religious leaders to preach moderation and resist extremists who, he said, were seeking to hijack religion to promote hatred and violence.

Abdullah told an international meeting of religious leaders in Kuala Lumpur that religions should not be allowed to be torn apart by extremists.

"If we fail to do so, we risk having our religion hijacked by those who promote hatred and violence. We risk ceding ground to those who do not see the need to live in peace with other religions," he said in a speech to some 100 theologians and scholars.

"We cannot allow our religions to be torn apart by extremist impulses. We must be committed in promoting the values of peace, tolerance and plurality," he said.

The week long conference which began on July 28 is organised by the World Council of Churches.

It is the first time the conference is being held in a Muslim majority country, organisers said, adding that a delegate from Israel was attending.

Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. An Israeli flag adorned the ceiling of the conference hall.

World unity

Abdullah said that in the eyes of many Muslims, events in the last three years seem to lent credence to the view that the Christian West was again at war with the Muslim world, he said.

"Sept 11, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the war on terror have all taken religious undertones," he said.

Malaysia opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq and has voiced hopes that the United Nations would play a significant role in Iraq's reconstruction.

The premier, who is the current chairman of both the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations, called for world unity.

"Muslim terrorists may not have direct links to Palestine, but it has become a symbol for the cause. We cannot delink Palestine from the war against terrorism," he said.

Misguided Muslims

Abdullah condemned terrorist acts committed by Muslims in the name of Islam but said, "they are in the minority. They do not speak for Islam. They are misguided and their efforts are giving Islam a bad name."

He said one way to address the problem was to hold inter-faith dialogue.

"Let us set aside our religious differences and talks about the issues that affect all of us," Abdullah said.

His call for moderation was hailed by Kurien Jacob, professor of theology with the Syrian Orthodox Church in India.

"It is a timely and relevant call to uphold moderation because there is a misunderstanding that Muslims are extremist and that they do not tolerate other religions," he told AFP .