King's Remarks at New York Police Department

08 December 2003
Amman , Jordan

His Majesty King Abdullah II affirmed that Islamic religion and the deeply-rooted Islamic values, since the earliest days of the emergence of Islam, has urged its Moslems to adopt the principles of tolerance and good intent.

In a speech before personnel of New York Police Department, the biggest police department in North America, King Abdullah said "Our Islamic faith orders us to implement the principles of justice, mercy and the respect of others." Long ago before the Geneva conventions and in the 7th century A.D. Muslim soldiers were given rigid rules of conduct to protect civilians at time of wars, King Abdullah said.

Even these days, the King added Muslim students at schools are learning the principles of tolerance. He cited the famous oration by Abu Baker Al Sediq, a closest companion to Prophet Mohammad, which is being taught nowadays to school children. The oration ordered Muslim soldiers not to kill innocent people regardless of their religion or commit hideous war crimes. It also banned indiscriminate devastation and the killing of elderly people, women and children and prohibited uprooting or burning trees.

King Abdullah affirmed that the greatest majority of the one billion Moslems are with peace but "we are horrified when we see terrorists using our religion at a time when publicly declare the real Islam, Islam of tolerance.

Islam should find a better understanding in the west, misunderstanding and division amongst our peoples can only serve the extremists, King Abdullah said.

The King thanked New York Police units for their efforts to protect lives of Arab and Muslim Americans and to guard mosques from sabotage.

He also thanked them for opening channels for dialogue to help justice progress.