His Majesty King Abdullah II on Monday called on the adherents to the eight schools of Islamic thought to unify their positions on the contemporary challenges facing Islam and to counter distortions of the religion during the opening of the International Islamic Conference held in Amman.

Addressing a gathering of around 170 Islamic scholars and thinkers of 40 different nationalities, His Majesty stressed the importance of the role of Islamic thinkers and "the responsibility [they] shoulder in unifying the Islamic Ummah, with all its schools of jurisprudence, and presenting the truth about our faith and its great message."

The eight Islamic schools include the four Sunni schools, the Ja'fari Shi'i school, the Ibadi school, the Zaydi school and the Thahiri school.

His Majesty said Muslims are obliged to correct the tarnished image of Islam.

"Primary among our obligations as Muslims is to present to the world the true essence of Islam. Islam is not the religion of violence and terrorism, or prejudice and isolation," he said, adding that "those who promulgate ‘Islamic' slogans, have defamed Islam and Muslims, and harmed Muslims, intentionally or unintentionally."

Participants in the three-day conference are exploring the values embodied in Islam, recently reflected in the Amman Message, including peace, justice, tolerance, and respect of faiths. The Amman message was released in Amman last November during the previous Holy Month of Ramadan, and was translated into eight different languages.

King Abdullah said that division among the eight schools of Islamic thought is one of the most important challenges facing Muslims. He urged the adherents to the different schools to acknowledge their similarities as a basis for unifying Muslims. All schools are in agreement on the fundamental principles of Islam and all agree on the foundations of Islamic belief, he said.

"Acknowledgement of the schools of jurisprudence within Islam would permit the emergence of a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas (religious edicts), and the definition of who is qualified for this undertaking," he stated, noting that "this, with God's will, would end the practice of defaming others as apostates, to close the door on ignorant people who practice killing and terrorism - of which Islam is innocent - in the name of Islam."

The conference, organized by the Aal al-Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought, is a forum for Islamic scholars and thinkers to collectively articulate the principles and values of Islam and the contemporary challenges facing Islam and to identify solutions to overcome them.