A coalition of non-governmental organisations, headed by a son of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is running a series of television advertisements denouncing terrorism as un-Islamic.

"Violence dishonours faith," say the clips, produced by the coalition known as Peace Malaysia, which was set up in January 2003 ahead of the US invasion of Iraq.

A baby boy is featured in one of the segments aired on private television channel TV3 during primetime news bulletins. It shows him growing up and graduating from university, turning to militant activities and dying in conflict.

Islam tells its believers not to kill children, women, the elderly and people in places of religious worship during combat, says another advertisement.

"Our objective is to promote global peace. It is a reminder to us here that we are living in peaceful conditions. Other countries are not so lucky," Peace Malaysia coordinator Mukhriz Mahathir told AFP.

"We want to promote diplomacy as a way to solve matters. Wars have never solved anything," said Mukhriz, whose father Mahathir was a strong critic of the US invasion of Iraq, warning that it would spawn more Islamic militancy.

Peace goal

"It is in line with Peace Malaysia's goal of pursuing peace, we are totally committed to non-violence as it is against Islam," said Chandra Muzaffar, political analyst and adviser to the group of more than 100 NGOs.

"The emphasis is against violence, as embodied in Islam. The killing of civilians in any battle or war is against what is integral to Islamic thought and philosophy," Chandra said.

Malaysia itself has more than 80 alleged Islamic militants held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Many of the detainees are allegedly members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah regional organisation responsible for a series of bombings in Indonesia, including the October 2002 Bali attack which killed 202 people.

Two Malaysians, Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top, suspected of being key Jemaah Islamiah operatives, remain at large and are feared to be plotting further attacks in Indonesia.

Discuss peacefully

But Mukhriz said the advertisements were not triggered by fears of a rise in militant activities in the country.

"Our grouse is mainly with Western leaders. They still can't sit down and discuss things in a peaceful manner," he said.

"Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on destructive material while there is starvation in third world countries. There are too many things to do without killing each other," Mukhriz said.

Terrorism is a "topical subject right now. The occupation of Iraq is still big news. Now there's talk of Iran," he said.

"For us, it's unfathomable in this day and age, that people would still resort to that strategy."

"In Malaysia we are lucky. Politically, we may have different perspectives but everyone shares a tolerant viewpoint. Malaysia's been described as a 'beacon of tolerance' and we want people to realise this."