Saudi king: ‘terrorism fueled international opinion against Islam’

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Sunday denounced terrorism and radical Islamists who he said were not only “threatening Muslims” but also tainting and vilifying the image of Islam to non-Muslims. King Salman’s statement was presented by Prince Khaled al-Faisal bin Abudlaziz, the royal’s Makka region advisor at the opening of an international conference titled “Islam and Combatting Terrorism” that is organized by the international Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). King Salman described “Muslim nations” as being “threatened by the infiltration of Islamized terrorism with its killing, oppression, pillaging and other ranges of aggression that have trespassed the borders of our Islamic world.” He said these radicals, who are carrying “a falsified Islamic banner,” have promoted a version of Islam which is “fueling the international opinion to hate Muslims.” Muslims are now seen as “culprits and as a source of fear and concern.” The terrorist militants have also caused “embracement and nervousness to the Islamic nations, its organizations and its people in front of other nations which we are connected to through cooperation.” He said ties between Muslim nations and other non-Muslim states were “almost shaken and had gone backward because of these terrorists.”   Al Arabiya