Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz denounced on Friday extremists as deviants of the Islamic faith and called for stronger institutions to counter creeping militancy.
In a speech on the final day of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit, he noted that the crisis facing the world's Muslim community was partly intellectual in nature, the AFP reported.
This emanates from increasing "overzealousness, leading to extremism, which turns them to terrorism."
Stressing that Islam is a religion of kindness, mercy and tolerance, Abdullah said a "minority" of deviant "terrorists" should not be allowed to tarnish the image of Islam.
"The bullets that kill women and children, terrorize those secured in their safety and destroy innocent communities do not come from rifles but from deviant thoughts and misguided interpretations of our great religion and its noble message."
He urged the 57-member OIC to strengthen institutions to help counter rising extremism among Muslim youth. (Albawaba.com)
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