The recent violent tragedy in Beslan, Russia, should be condemned by every human being without exception. Of the 326 people killed in that incident, about half were children.

There is no holy book of any religion, much less Islam, which calls on anyone to carry out such an atrocity.

Even though Islam is not totally anti-war, it has several guidelines governing behaviour in times of war, which have been in place for 1,400 years, long before the Geneva Convention came into being. Islam does not allow the killing of civilians, much less blameless children.

So it is not strange that several Islamic leaders in the Middle East have condemned the bloody tragedy as un-Islamic. They include the controversial Sheikhul Azhar, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi; the leader of the Ikhwanul sect, Mohammed Mahdi Akef; and Ahmad Bahgat, an Egyptian Muslim.

We must be honest in our evaluations. Any action that is unIslamic, which can defame and damage the image of Islam, must be condemned, even if it has been carried out by a brother in Islam.

Muslims are now suffering from a siege mentality, and every tragedy involving a Muslim is just denied as a Jewish or American conspiracy.

We should think deeply about the words that former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim used, when interviewed recently in Germany by the New York Times .

He said: "Muslims are now in denial... Everything is just blamed on America, the Jews and Christians."

Islam itself means 'peace'. But these days, it is as if we Muslims do not represent the actual meaning of Islam. We should work to portray the true image of Islam to the world. The responsibility is in our hands.

Conduct of war

The Muslim world today needs leaders who are courageous, sincere and honest to convince Muslims about the weaknesses that come from within ourselves and ways to overcome these.

It is not difficult to shout out the rhetoric 'Islam is the answer', the hard thing to do is to take Islamic values and apply them in our lives today.

Both Muslim scholars and leaders have important roles to play. The scholars should convince Muslims that their religion preaches peace, and that the killing of blameless human beings is a deed which is wrong in the eyes of Islam.

The Quran, the Sunnah and the Islamic teachings of early scholars have determined the complete guidelines for the proper way to conduct a war and to oppose enemies.

If there is anything that has not been covered, it is not wrong for scholars to study the principal Islamic texts and come up with an interpretation.

Both Muslim and political leaders need to give Muslims democratic space. The importance of building a cultured, resolute society cannot be neglected even as we strive to revive Islamic civilisation.

Islam stressed unity among Muslims, but that does not mean that Islam does not allow for differences, as some dictators in the Islamic world have claimed.

There should be a clear understanding about what exactly the difference is, whether it is matter of fundamentals or something based on interpretations, whether it is a difference in beliefs or a difference of opinions.

At the same time, a progressive and equitable economy is also important to stabilise the fabric of society and prevent a small portion of it from deviating onto the path of violence.

Corruption, cronyism and nepotism must be contained; and corruption battled. Political turmoil often stems from economic troubles. Malaysia is often quoted as an example of an Islamic nation which is fast developing.

However, if a clear economic model and a democratic leadership exists, then it will not be strange if the other Muslim nations can not only achieve similar development, but may even outperform Malaysia.

Denial of means

It is easy to say that bribery is haram and business is halal , but to plan a comprehensive and realistic economic model to face the challenges in the world today is much more difficult.

This does not mean that we do not recognise the causes of violence. It is hard to overcome violence without understanding its causes, which are not only related to democracy, but also to the most basic human rights like housing, education, employment and denial of means to fulfil Islamic obligations in Palestine, Chechnya and others.

Images of their blameless children dying have stiffened the resolve of those who take the path of suicide bombers. Western leaders should evaluate more deeply the reasons why violence erupts without just blaming Islam alone.

Actions such as banning the hijab in France; or more importantly, the double standards practised in Palestine, are examples of inadequate evaluations by several Western leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, in his efforts to deal with the Beslan incident, has rejected any compromise with any of Chechnya's freedom fighters and labeled all of them as terrorists, even though several western analysts considered the group involved in the Beslan attack as just a splinter group.

Fundamentally speaking, in order to overcome the problem of violence, every single person in the world must be responsible. Muslims should firmly condemn any violent action that claims innocent lives, while the world should put an end to the causes of violence more diligently.

Leaders of both the Muslim and the Western world should be sincere in evaluating violence without only resorting to rhetoric.

We cannot hide behind nice slogans, we must come forward to curb emerging threats. We are all responsible for making the world a better place for our children.

NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD writes for Seruan Keadilan , Harakah , malaysiakini, Asia

Times,

IslamiCity and Aliran , among other publications. He also contributes to the BBC World Service.