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Fighting extremism means working with Muslim communities: Indonesian defense minister

Xinhua, December 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Visiting Indonesian defense minister said here Tuesday that the key to stopping the threat of radicalization was closely consulting with Muslim communities on how to deal with potential extremists.

Following a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that radical groups like IS are "our common enemy" which need to be "eradicated."

However Ryacudu said that Islam was mistakenly thought of as the problem, instead, he said teaching the Western world of the good in Islam was also important in limiting the threat posed by rogue extremists.

"(IS) is our common enemy and we have to take a kind of common action to tackle and eradicate this enemy," Ryacudu said.

"(But) Islam is pure and is supposed to teach love and peace. We need to try to propagate the true Islamic teaching throughout the global Muslim community.

"It's also up to the clerics and the Islamic leaders to ensure they understand the teachings of Islam and that's the strategy that we're trying to implement in Indonesia."

Ryacudu said Indonesia would be open to the idea of assisting coalition nations such as Australia and the United States in waging a war with IS, but added the West world needed to consider a peaceful outcome when dealing with the political issues facing Syria.

"Syria is a country comprised of people, good people, but the Islamic State is our common enemy and between us we have to eradicate this terrorist group," he said.

Ryacudu also touched on the "strong and stable" relationship that Australia and Indonesia share, adding that despite challenges earlier in 2015, a "bridge to reconciliation, bridging the relationship between the two countries" had been built.

Australia and Indonesia developed a frosty relationship after Indonesia executed two Australian drug smugglers despite pleas of amnesty from the Australian government.

"We can learn from previous problems between Australia and Indonesia but it shouldn't happen again," Ryacudu said. Enditem