Leaders of different faith will come together to debate the root cause of terrorism in a forum entitled "Inter-faith Cooperation in Fighting Terrorism" on Tuesday in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur.

Organised by World Council of Muslims for Inter-religious Relations (Australasia) and The Academy for Civilisational Studies Malaysia and Islamic Outreach-ABIM (Malaysian Youth Islamic Movement), the forum will see representatives from the different faiths Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism address their viewpoints on the issue of terrorism.

WCMIR chairperson Dr Kamar Oniah said that members of the interfaith and intercivilizational organisation are opposed to any kind of violence.

She said the organisation strongly believes that "two wrongs cannot make one right" and the guiding theme chosen for discussion is based on the theme "Terrorism and Solution: Has the issue been properly addressed?".

Sincerity and conscience

"The sensible way to fight terrorism is being sincere towards each other and possessing the courage and conscience to speak up," she said.

"People of all faiths must come forward and speak up to tell the truth regarding the issue," she added.

America's clarion call soon after Sept 11 to fight terrorism gained overwhelming support from many countries.

Kamar said that the superpowers, US and Britain in particular, who are spearheading the campaign against terrorism after the Sept 11 tragedy, had attracted people to support the cause, thinking it was a genuine case.

But the world communities now realise that these powers are "playing a double-standard game", she claimed.

WCMIR founding president Dr Irfan Ahmad Khan and Jim Interreligious Engagement Project 2002 founder and president Jim Kenney will speak at the forum.