Political discord and not Islam is the root cause of Muslims disunity in the country, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the Muslims in the country were split into three groups although they were not fighting against each other using weapons like in other Islamic countries.

"Just because of ideological differences, some Muslims have refused to share the same mosque and burial ground with fellow Muslims.

"As Islam promotes brotherhood, we need to foster unity among us. Unity is the foundation of the Islamic community, and not discord and hostility towards each other," he told reporters after opening the third Multaqa Wehdatul Ummah in Butterworth today.

Mahathir, who is also Muslim Welfare Organisation of Malaysia president, said Muslims should portray the true Islamic teachings to gain the respect of other communities.

"Muslims will become weak due to conflicts among us. We might have forgotten that 55 years ago, all Muslims and Malays in this country fought for the independence and against the Malayan Union," he said.

He said although Muslims were weak and poor, and had no power then, they managed to defeat the Malayan Union because they were united.

- Bernama