The Muslim World League (MWL) is committed to strengthening cooperation with Malaysia to tackle terrorism, said its secretary-general Mohammad Abdul Karim Al-Issa.

Abdul (above) said the cooperation would focus on sharing its deradicalisation expertise.

“Terrorist groups often tarnish the image of Islam and threaten the security of Islam and its followers. MWL and Malaysia, through the office of the Minister of Religious Affairs, will continue to work together to fight this group to ensure that the image of Islam is safeguarded,” he said.

He told this to the Malaysian media after a four-eyed meeting with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri at the MWL office in Riyadh on Saturday.

Zulkifli is currently in Saudi Arabia for a working visit from last Friday to April 18 at the invitation of MWL.

During the two-hour meeting, they exchanged views and experiences on Islamic matters, including dakwah - propagating the religion.

Abdul also praised Malaysia for preserving religious harmony in a multi-ethnic country, making it a model for other countries.

"Malaysia is admired and deserves to be a model country that practices wasatiyah (moderation), recognising the co-existence of other countries, and celebrates religious diversity that forms a plural society," he said.

MWL, established in 1962, is an Islamic non-governmental organisation based in Makkah with the role of clarifying the true message of Islam by advancing values that promote moderation, peace, and tolerance.

Meanwhile, Zulkifli said the cooperation with MWL was in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during his visit to Saudi Arabia last March.

“The relationship between Malaysia and WML has been forged a long time ago - almost every year we send muftis, chairs of the National Fatwa Council, and ulama to participate in the conference organised by them.

"What I saw in this meeting was a form of cooperation that we may be able to do in a more organised manner, especially assistance to those in need, besides dakwah and wasatiyah," he added.

- Bernama

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